Christ Loves

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:25–27
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Christ Loves
The world would have you buy a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine and call it love. Jesus loves by laying down his life for his bride. The Perfect Groom does not lord over His wife, but He gives Himself up for her. He washes and cares for her every need. He presents her in splendor. He takes her spots from her and lets her shine. We so often focus on ourselves. We let our personal desires outweigh the needs of our wife. We get impatient, angry, and overbearing because we want for ourselves. Christ calls us to deny ourselves and to lay down our life for our brides. He washes us in the same blood that he cleanses the whole world. He is the Groom from whom all husbands learn what it means to be a husband. Christ never focused on himself; he always gave of everything to have you as his own. Thanks be to God for his death and rising.