If I speak with the authority of the head of the house,
but do not have love,
I am just blowing off steam.

If I claim to know the mysteries of marriage
and to have knowledge of gender distinctions,
but do not have love,
I am just an arrogant theorist.

If I provide enough money for my wife’s every whim
and sacrifice myself on the altar of marital success,
but do not have love,
I am just another bankrupt marital casualty.

A husband’s love is patient when she is never ready on time,
Kind even when she is in “one of her moods,”
And not jealous of her social skills and friends.

A loving husband is not arrogant of his logical abilities
and the fact that he is usually right.
He treats his wife like a “lady,”
with thoughtfulness and tenderness,
And does not selfishly pursue his own interests and hobbies
to the exclusion of her interests.

A loving husband is not provoked when she does not think or act as he expects,
and does not keep a list of all the times when she has hurt or wronged him.

The love of a husband bears all the misunderstandings,
Believes that God is sufficient to make the marriage work,
Hopes that the relationship will glorify God,
and endures all the inevitable difficulties.

If there be marriage seminars, they will be forgotten.
If there are libraries of books on marriage, they will be destroyed.
If there are theories of gender distinctions and marital roles, they will fade away.

There now abides in the Christian husband,
Faith that God knew what He was doing when He created us male and female,
and the hope that their marriage union
will represent the union of Christ and the Christian as God intended.
But the greatest is love which allows us to seek the highest good of the other
without selfishly considering what we get out of it.

By Jim Fowler
Email: jimfowler@christinyou.net
Christ In You Ministries
Reprinted with permission

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