Day 64 — Love That Gives Itself

Day 64 · Following Christ in All of Life · Ephesians 5:21-33 (NET2)

Paul places marriage within reverence for Christ and points especially to Christ’s self-giving love for the church. This is not permission for domination, coercion, or abuse. The husband is called to nourishing, costly love, not control. Married readers can examine their conduct before Christ; all readers can marvel at his care for his people. Anyone facing abuse should seek safety and trustworthy help.

Request

Lord Jesus, teach us to reflect your faithful, self-giving love. Amen.

Read

Ephesians 5:21-33

²¹ and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

²² Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, ²³ because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church (he himself being the savior of the body). ²⁴ But as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her ²⁶ to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, ²⁷ so that he may present the church to himself as glorious—not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one has ever hated his own body, but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body. ³¹ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. ³² This mystery is great—but I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church. ³³ Nevertheless, each one of you must also love his own wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Scripture: NET Bible, Second Edition (NET2).

Reflect

1. How does Christ’s care for the church shape the passage’s picture of marriage?
2. What would seeking another’s good, rather than control, look like in a relationship today?

Restate

Restate how Christ’s love challenges selfish uses of authority.

Respond

Let the passage guide your prayer. Use these prompts in your own words:

• Praise: Praise Christ for loving and giving himself for his church.
• Thanksgiving: Thank him for his tender care.
• Confession: Confess selfishness or controlling behavior.
• Intercession: Pray for healthy marriages and safety for those facing abuse.
• Petition: Ask for sacrificial love and wise support.

Carry it into today: Practice one act that genuinely serves another’s good without demanding a return.