It says in Ephesians 5:1 that we must become imitators of God. That is a tall order. How can one do this? For one thing an individual cannot even begin to accomplish this in their own power. God's word tells us that we have to flee from that which is wrong. The grace of God through the Holy Spirit can help us each day. We must resist that which temps us. We must be careful how we live. I don't know about you, but I often find that a challenge. I thank God for the daily grace that helps me one day at a time.
Verses 21-33 provide us a challenge and are often misunderstood. Paul wrote this against the Jewish view that had a very low opinion of women. In their morning prayers Jewish men would often pray to God giving thanks that God had not made him "a gentile, a slave or a woman." In Jewish law a woman was not a person but a thing. The woman had no rights. She could not divorce. That could only be done by the man. The verse, "The husband is the head of the wife," is often quoted in isolation. The essence of this section is not control, but love. Submission does not mean one doesn't have rights. I don't know anyone who likes to be submissive when the one to whom submission is expected does not live up to their part of the relationship. Wives find it offensive to have to submit no matter what. That is exactly where the problem comes. Husbands don't always act like Christ. Christ's love is pure. A man's love for his wife must be sacrificial just like Christ's love for each of us. It must never be selfish in nature. It must be a caring love. A man must love his wife just like he loves himself. There is something far wrong when a man does not honor his wife as his equal. Love must go both ways. In a good marriage there is a third party. It is not another person, but Christ.
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