Whatever the Issue, Ephesians 5:33 Works!

The Bible truly is the marriage book to base all marriage books on. All the answers for every husband and every wife and every single marital argument or issue can be found within its pages, summed up perfectly in Ephesians 5:33: “Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

“What does the Bible say about how to handle going through dozens of surgeries with your spouse who suffers from debilitating conditions?”

Ephesians 5:33—Love and respect.

“What does God say about dealing with newfound stresses such as deaths in the family and starting a new business?

Ephesians 5:33—Love and respect.

There is a reason I have spent so many years writing and teaching about just one of God’s teachings on marriage and relationships, found in a short New Testament letter written by a single guy two thousand years ago.

It works!

Whatever a marriage is going through, whatever the crisis, miracles can result from the simple obedience of Ephesians 5:33. And when I receive letters like this one, this is confirmed in me further still:

My wife and I were part of a marriage group at our local church, and we watched your Love and Respect video from 2005. Your teachings have changed our lives. We have been married twelve years now. I am a disabled man, and I have had more than 60 operations. My wife has been around for at least 20 of those operations. I have 32 screws and rods in my back due to my Spina Bifida and Scoliosis. I worked as a plumber into my thirties.

As you can imagine pain is a big part of my life. Luckily my wife has been there for me. We have our problems and I know when I am in pain, I can be rude. I also know I blamed her a lot for not respecting me. Telling her such things as, "If I can go to work as a plumber until I cannot even walk from the truck to the door, the least you can do is clean the house a little." Just one of our arguments. Thankfully we have learned to love and respect each other.

Recently my wife opened up a retail store and quit her job. Starting a new business can be horrendous on a marriage. Then her father just passed away. Thankfully your teachings taught us how to communicate with each other. I never in my life thought we could be able to talk to one another the way we now do. On behalf of my wife and I, we thank you and your lovely wife Sarah for all the help you have provided us. God Bless You!

God, our Creator and the creator of marriage, knows what He’s doing and knows what we need to work through any and all conflicts and obstacles that arise in our marriages. His word to us in Ephesians 5 to love and respect is intended to be the key to working through every issue and speed bump that life puts in our way.

What conflict or issue in your marriage right now needs to be dealt with by learning how to better love and respect each other?

-Dr. E