And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Ephesians 5:21-33 NLT
Every relationship changes when we put Christ first. Jesus taught His followers to love each other the way that He loved them. Paul explained that in all Christ-centered relationships there is a level of submission—giving up our rights to serve each other. Husbands and wives are to love and serve each other. Men and women are not the same; they have different needs. Husbands and wives are called to listen to each other and meet each other's needs in love.
Marriage is tough. When we put Christ in the center of marriage, it changes for the better. Christ can give us a listening ear when we feel misunderstood; He can help us love even when we feel wronged; He can give us the strength to forgive. Put Christ first. Pursue Him every day and soak up His love for you. As you live out His love in you, every relationship will change.
If you are married, how can you live out these verses in your relationship today? If you are single, how can you put Christ first in your life and trust Him with all your relationships?
