Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Ephesians 5:33 KJV
The average cost of a wedding in my beloved home state of North Carolina is $29K. Believe it or not, that’s a deal compared to getting married in New Jersey, where the average runs $57K! Want the lowest cost? You’ll have to go out west to Wyoming ($17K).*
Obviously, weddings can run way below or way above these prices, but these statistics did get me thinking. While a lovely wedding may be expensive, a beautiful marriage will cost you much more. And not just in dollars and cents. To have a beautiful (biblical) marriage, you must esteem your spouse better than yourself.
Ephesians 5:21-33 mentions husbands loving their wives like Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25). Jesus loved the church (His Bride) so much He died for it. Wives are instructed to respect and submit to their husbands (Eph. 5:22-23). This again is a picture of the church’s response to Christ Himself (Eph. 5:23-24). I know all of this is not politically correct, but it is biblically correct!
After the vows are said, the cake is cut, and all the guests go home, what matters most is not how beautiful the ceremony was, but how beautiful your marriage will be. And the only way to make that happen is to follow God’s instructions. One of the key verses to hang onto is Ephesians 4:32: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
If we’re going to live this way in our marriages, we will need God’s strength and enablement. And the good news is that as believers, we have it.
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the gift of marriage. We know that Christian marriage is the joining of two redeemed sinners into one, so we need Your help to live in a way that honors You and each other. We pray for all families and all marriages that they might be what You desire. In Jesus’ Name, we pray, Amen.
* https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-average-wedding-cost-in-every-u-s-state/