The Value of Your Faith. 1John 2:3-4.

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Is your faith real? Do you say one thing and end up doing another? To paraphrase Paul, " the evil things I don't want to do is what I end up doing, and the good things I want to do never seem to get done." It can be difficult to do the right things, loving others, showing tolerance, and lovingkindness to those who need it. The best of Christians fall short.

Foundations of Marital Success. Ephesians 5:33

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To be in a marriage is a matter of mutual love and respect. All through the preceding passage, from verse 21 through33, it talks to the husband more than the wife. Both are told to basically love and respect each other. It is one thing to have an attraction, or a passionate emotional love for another person. That love soon fades, and real love has to be worked toward.

Complementary Parts, Not Equal and Opposite. Ephesians 5:30

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In the big picture of God's kingdom, and spiritual matters, where do we fit in? As Christians, we are his very own body. His own flesh and blood. In Revelation there is a mention of Christ returning on a white horse. In it we have a snapshot of his head, on top of a body that is clothed in garments drenched in blood. We are that body that is paid for, clothed, and drenched in his blood. The bride that he is coming for is the remnant of faithful ones of the body of Israel.

Love is for Marriage. Ephesians 5:29

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Nobody ever hates his own body. Sure, we are some times depressed, or certain people have thoughts of suicide. More often though, people will go to great lengths to preserve their own life. People endure hardships at the hand of extreme situations. Surviving a plane crash, or a shipwreck, or some other crisis of life and death. The desire to keep living is strong. Even Christians with the assurance of being in heaven have that natural desire to remain alive. As much as we punish our bodies, we still love them enough to take care of them.

Goal of Marriage. Ephesians 5:27-28

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The recurring theme of the passage from Ephesians 5:21-33 is that we need to model the marriage relationship after Christ. There is a direct comparason with Jesus as the head, and the body of Christians as his body. The husband is the head, with the wife as the body. Jesus holds the position of respect and honor while the body submits to doing as the head orders. The wife is the body that responds as the husband orders. Jesus loves the body, cares for it, cleans it, and provides to keep it healthy. The husband also needs to tend to the needs of his wife to keep her cared for, cleansed and healthy.

Marital Hygene. Ephesians 5:25-26

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Feminist groups often get bent out of shape by that one little verse that preceeds this passage about wives submitting to husbands. Check this out though. After that little verse about the duties of a wife, we get verses 23 through28 concerning all the responsibilities and expectations of husbands.

The Fall Guy. Ephesians 5:23-24.

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In the verses that come before this passage, we learn that we are to submit to each other, that a wife is to submit to her own husband. With all this submitting going on, we find out today that the buck stops here, with the husband. The husband is the fall guy who has to take responsibility before Jesus.

Get More by Giving Away. Ephesians 5:21

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Time for an unpopular idea, submitting. As United States citezens, we have come to love our rights of free speech. Basically we are proud of the fact that we can do what we want, and nobody can tell us what to do. We don't have to submit to anybody. To carry that ideal to its extreme makes for a lonely existence and a poorer quality of life. At some point we need others