The beginning of this chapter is a good example of reading to get the heart of what’s being said rather than getting caught up on the words. This portion has been used by some to put women down which I don’t at all believe was the intent. Remember that in the society of that time, women were not treated as equal to men. However, when you read the life of Jesus, He continually championed women. He showed that women were equal, not less than.
Wives ought to be attentive to the needs of their husbands and likewise the husbands to their wives. A marriage relationship is to be two people coming together as one. We no longer focus on ourselves and our individual needs but on each other and the oneness we’ve become.
Like anything in life, don’t get so focused on the external that you lose the internal. It’s fine to make yourself outwardly beautiful but first make sure you’re allowing your inner beauty to shine as that’s more important. Inner beauty is what truly makes a person beautiful.
A marriage relationship is a union – two becoming one, not one dominating the other, whether male or female. A loving relationship is one of serving each other, not demanding to be served. If my husband demands that I obey him or I demand that he obeys me, we don’t have much of a loving relationship. A wife is not a slave to her husband, she is to be one with him, equally important. A marriage relationship is one of intimacy. Both husband and wife should feel the freedom to completely and unashamedly bare their hearts to each other. True intimacy is allowing your spouse to see into the depths of your heart without holding anything back. True intimacy between a husband and wife requires oneness.
The way we treat people as we live out our lives should reflect the love of Christ. How we treat people is based on our own character, not on the character of anyone else. Whether people are kind to us or rude to us, we each have the choice to respond in love or react and treat them like they treated us. Jesus modeled a life of love. Make a conscious choice to respond in love even when others don’t. Pursue peace.
When you live a life of love you don’t have to be intimidated by those who speak poorly of you because your life of love will speak for you. Don’t waste your time defending yourself, just continue to love.
Jesus showed His love for humanity and His oneness with humanity through His death and resurrection. Everything He did was to love and serve humanity, as a husband loves and serves his wife.
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