A Man’s Influence in the Home: A 3-Day Marriage PlanExemplo

A Holy Partnership

Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself.

Ephesians 5:33

To properly define the God‐ordained role of husbands, there’s no better place to turn than Scripture. The apostle Paul instructs: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy. . . . In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies” (Ephesians 5:25–28). Paul also tells us “the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23).

Here’s the bottom line of your responsibility as a husband: You are charged with the holy, loving leadership of your wife. There is nothing dictatorial or selfish in this prescription! Your love is to be so strong that it mirrors Christ’s love for the church, so committed that you would unquestioningly die to save her, and so powerful that it is indistinguishable from love of yourself.

What a challenge! And what a privilege to join with God and your wife in this holy partnership! For as you fulfill your role as head of the house, you’ll encounter blessings you never imagined.

Just between us . . .

• (husband) What has been my most “shining moment” as your husband?

• (husband) Do you feel my love for you meets this scriptural ideal?

• (wife) How do you feel about the responsibility God gives husbands?

• (wife) How can I encourage you in this role?

(husband) Heavenly Father, You have given me an awesome and holy responsibility to love my wife just as Christ loved the church. Help me to follow His perfect example as I learn to increase my love for my mate. Amen.

Excerpted from Night Light for Couples, used with permission.

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Cor. 11:1, ESV)

. . . By this we may know that we are in him [Christ]: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 Jn. 2:5b-6, ESV)

“A Good Family Man in Today’s World” (This article, excerpted from Dr. Dobson’s Bringing Up Boys, is available on our website.)