Loving Others as Christ Loves

Loving Others as Christ Loves…

The instruction in Ephesians 5:25 is profound and unwavering: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” This isn’t a suggestion to love in a way that feels natural or convenient because our own capacity for love can often fall short. Instead, this divine command sets a radical standard.

Your love for your wife isn’t dictated by your feelings in the moment, nor is it contingent upon her perfection or reciprocation. She will have flaws, make mistakes, and experience the natural changes of life. Just as Christ’s love for the church wasn’t based on its flawless state, but rather on His desire to make it holy, so too should your love for your wife be.

Consider your own relationship with God. You are called to be His spotless bride, yet you undoubtedly fall short. Still, He loves you unconditionally, a love that works to transform you and make you beautiful in His eyes. This is the very essence of how you are called to love your wife.

Don’t love her based on your limited human understanding of love, but with the boundless, self-sacrificing love that Jesus has shown you. He doesn’t love you because you are already perfect; He loves you so that you can become perfect in Him. Extend this same transformative love to your spouse.

Furthermore, this principle extends beyond marriage. Embrace this Christ-like love for those individuals in your life who are most challenging to love. Your unwavering love, mirroring Jesus’s, may be the very catalyst that helps them discover their own inherent beauty.

As Ephesians 5:25-33 further elaborates, this love is not passive. It is an active, self-giving love, mirroring Christ’s sacrifice for the church, “to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

This kind of love reflects the intimate unity between a husband and wife, likened to the care one has for their own body. It’s a profound mystery, reflecting the very relationship between Christ and His church. Therefore, let each husband love his wife as he loves himself and let the wife see to it that she respects her husband.

Today, make a conscious decision to extend this Jesus-like love to the person you find most difficult to love. Look beyond their actions or inactions, their flaws or shortcomings, and choose to love them with the same unconditional, transformative love that Christ has lavished upon you.

Heavenly Father, we acknowledge the profound challenge and the incredible power of the love You exemplified through Your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray for a renewed understanding of the command to love others as Christ loved the church. Grant us the strength and the grace to look beyond imperfections and frustrations and to see others through Your loving eyes. For those relationships that are strained and difficult, pour out Your spirit of patience, compassion, and selfless love. Help us, especially husbands in their marriages, to reflect Christ’s sacrificial love in our actions and attitudes. May our love be a source of healing, growth, and transformation for those around us, just as Your love has been for us. Empower us to love not because of what others do but because of who You are and the love You have shown us. Amen.

The best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed 🙏🏼