The role of the man in a marriage.

     This is a topic you usually don’t want to touch with a 10 ft pole.  But here goes.  Well, the Bible says that the man is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for it.  What does that all mean.  I will give you my interpretation.  Emphasize, my.

     First of all, how did and does Christ love the church.  We all know his sacrificial death on the cross.  He was the suffering servant described around 700 years earlier in Isaiah Chapter 53.  Therefore, we know that the role of the man will require a great amount of sacrifice and suffering.  But as Jesus said I count it all joy.  Yes, the man will incur much suffering, but it will come back to him in the form of many blessings in a variety of ways. 

     But it didn’t end there.  Christ lives on.  He is seated at the right hand of the father making intercession for us.  And so likewise the man should continually make intercession for his family. 

     Plus, He gave the church many instructions before He left this world.  So we can deduce that it is the job of the man in a marriage to make sure that those instructions are carried out in his home.

     The man’s purpose is not to satisfy the wants of his wife or his children.  His purpose is to provide for their needs, but it goes so much beyond that.  Jesus came to do the will of the Father.  So, likewise, it is the job of the man to see that the will of the Father (Jesus) is fulfilled in his family.  There is one big problem.  The will of the Father most times requires much sacrifice. 

     The Bible says to look on others more highly than yourself.  Applying that verse to this situation means your whole family is to think of others more highly than yours.  That is the kicker.  The man has to have the you know what, to cause his family to sacrifice; to die so that others may live.

     And this is endless.  It’s a constant sacrifice.  But if the family can only get past the suffering, the blessings come in so many different ways.  Oh, the joy and the fulfillment.  You see God work and you are a part of that work. 

     In the best-case scenario the wife and children get behind and support the man. Trusting in God is difficult so trusting in a man is doubly hard.  The man is not infallible, so blind following is not a good thing.  When there are major decisions, it must be talked through with the family and possibly with an abundance of counselors. 

     The will of man vs the will of God

          The endless question of this world that we trod.

     Of course, Jesus showed us the way,

          As He suffered and died on that on that decisive day.

     The man, Jesus said, should love his wife,

          As He, gave His life.

     Suffering and sacrifice are a part of it all,

          But soon you will see the blessing fall.

Ricky B