“Getting Back to
Basics”
Husbands
Genesis 2:24
24 For this reason a man shall leave his
father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one
flesh.
1 Peter 3:7
7 You husbands in the same way, live
with your wives in an
understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show
her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not
be hindered.
In preparation for marriage, the
couple should develop the mindset that the SPOUSE is the number one person in
every relationship that they have.
Parents, siblings, children, friends and other family members do not
come before the spouse. Husbands were
charged with giving honor to their wives and there are numerous scriptures that
instruct husbands to love their wives.
The original text uses agape
as the specific form of love that husbands are required to have for their
wives. In order to give a simple definition
of agape, it could be explained as having a person’s best interest at heart;
regardless of how you may feel about them at any given time.
Ephesians 5:25 reveals that a husband
has a responsibility to sacrifice for his wife spiritually as well as
physically. As the head of the family,
the husband is admonished by Colossians 3:19 to avoid dealing with his wife in
a harsh manner. Proverbs 18:22 indicates
that if a man is able to find a wife he has found something of value and once
he marries her, he receives favor from the Lord.
A husband’s role should mirror the
role that Christ displayed with His disciples.
One characteristic that He exhibited was proper correction. Jesus lived by a standard and He never allowed
his feelings for His followers to prevent Him from correcting them when they
were in error. When James and John
desired to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans who refused to welcome
Jesus into their village, Jesus quickly addressed and corrected their improper
thinking (Luke 9:54).
Another characteristic that Jesus
displayed was that of a protector. When
the Roman soldiers came to arrest Jesus, He allowed Himself to be taken into
their custody and instructed them to allow His disciples to freely leave (John
18:3-11).
American culture has attempted to
redefine the role and responsibility of a husband. God designed men to be the providers for the
family. He never intended for husbands
to be stay at home dads while the wife went to work to provide for the
family. Husbands were created and
commissioned to be the leaders of the family and the head of household. As leaders, husbands may delegate certain
responsibilities to their wives, but they are never to abdicate their role as
leader. A husband who desires to lead
his home in a godly manner will have to violate current day social norms. He will have to declare, as Joshua did, “As
for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
