[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fhusbands-love-your-wives":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fhusbands-love-your-wives-surround":69},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":13,"columnName":51,"date":52,"description":19,"extension":53,"image":54,"meta":55,"minRead":56,"navigation":57,"path":58,"postType":59,"publication":60,"publicationUrl":54,"seo":61,"stem":62,"topics":63,"__hash__":68},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fhusbands-love-your-wives.md","Husbands, Love Your Wives",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12],"Ephesians","Matthew","1 Peter","Romans",{"type":14,"value":15,"toc":47},"minimark",[16,20,23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44],[17,18,19],"p",{},"After more than 23 years of marriage, I still have a lot to learn.",[17,21,22],{},"Because my wife works nights as a Registered Nurse at a local hospital, she tries to catch up on her sleep during the day. One evening, weary after working 12-hour shifts three nights in a row, Candy put on an old T-shirt and jeans and we took a walk together. Understandably, she hadn't fixed her hair or put on any makeup. Apologetically she said, \"Dave, I'm sorry I look like such a slob tonight.\"",[17,24,25],{},"Reassuringly I said, \"That's O.K.\"",[17,27,28],{},"Now, I meant well. But to my surprise, my response didn't seem to make her feel better! With a bit of consternation, she patiently explained that she would rather I'd have said something like, \"You are beautiful to me no matter what you're wearing.\"",[17,30,31],{},"Like I said, I still have a lot to learn—especially when I dare to compare myself to the biblical standard that says, \"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her\" (Ephesians 5:25). As Christ loved the church? That's a high standard indeed—right up there with Jesus' command, \"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect\" (Matthew 5:48). Even when I try my best to be a good husband, my love for my wife falls far short of our Savior's flawless love.",[17,33,34],{},"Christ's love is unselfish. He \"gave himself up\" for the church. What do I need to give up for my wife? More time to listen? More encouragement of her spiritual growth? More effort to help out around the house? Less preoccupation with my work or hobbies? Less insistence on doing things my way, and more consideration for the needs of our children? \"Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies\" (Ephesians 5:28). But it's tempting for men to neglect our responsibility to honor our wives with thoughtfulness, respect, and prayer (1 Peter 3:7).",[17,36,37],{},"Christ's love is undeserved. \"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us\" (Romans 5:8). He loves us when we're beautiful and when we're ugly; on our best days and on our worst days; whether we're rich or poor, sick or healthy. He knows all our weaknesses, but every day he finds a way to nurture our strengths.",[17,39,40],{},"Christ's love is unceasing. He loves the church with the focused attention a groom gives his bride on their wedding day; and he loves us with the deep, \"you can count on me to be there\" familiarity of a couple happily married for 60 years. Christ loved his bride when she was young (in the first century), and he still loves her 2,000 years later.",[17,42,43],{},"While visiting my in-laws' home, I noticed a fading photograph on the wall. It was a family portrait taken, I'd guess, in 1961—when Candy was six years old. I stared for a long time at that little girl with curly blonde hair, smiling innocently as she stood beside her parents and sisters. A sense of awe arose in my heart, sparked by a humbling realization: In the providence of God, that little girl grew into a beautiful woman who chose to share her life with me. What a sacred trust! \"A profound mystery,\" Paul calls it (Ephesians 5:32).",[17,45,46],{},"Men, maybe it's a good idea for us to keep a photo like that with us all the time, in our wallets or on our desks. That little girl whose innocence was captured by a photo years ago? That little girl who grew up, captured your heart, and trusted her life to you? She deserves the best you and I can give.",{"title":48,"searchDepth":49,"depth":49,"links":50},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","1999-02-14","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fhusbands-love-your-wives","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":19},"articles\u002Fhusbands-love-your-wives",[64,65,66,67],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Intergenerational Ministry","Spiritual Formation","F5Hgws2pogErQ63_Q_RKh5nQmpAaAnMr_Bcn-8CL3lY",[70,75],{"title":71,"path":72,"stem":73,"description":74,"children":-1},"How Good and Pleasant It Could Be!","\u002Farticles\u002Fhow-good-and-pleasant-it-could-be","articles\u002Fhow-good-and-pleasant-it-could-be","“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”(Psalm 133:1, New King James Version*).",{"title":76,"path":77,"stem":78,"description":79,"children":-1},"I Still Do","\u002Farticles\u002Fi-still-do","articles\u002Fi-still-do","Marriages go through three stages. First there are the \"wows,\" the exciting initial stages of courtship when two people discover their mutual attraction."]