As we approach the end of the year, a period replete with work free days that take away the daily pressures, it’s a time to kindle the foundational relationship as laid down by the Creator of the institution of marriage. Would you reflect on the words of our text scripture:

And out of your reverence for Christ be supportive of each other in love. For wives, this means being devoted to your husbands like you are tenderly devoted to our Lord, for the husband provides leadership for the wife, just as Christ provides leadership for his church, as the Savior and Reviver of the body. In the same way the church is devoted to Christ, let the wives be devoted to their husbands in everything. And to the husbands, you are to demonstrate love for your wives with the same tender devotion that Christ demonstrated to us, his bride. For he died for us, sacrificing himself to make us holy and pure, cleansing us through the showering of the pure water of the Word of God. All that he does in us is designed to make us a mature church for his pleasure, until we become a source of praise to him—glorious and radiant, beautiful and holy, without fault or flaw. Husbands have the obligation of loving and caring for their wives the same way they love and care for their own bodies, for to love your wife is to love your own self. No one abuses his own body, but pampers it—serving and satisfying its needs. That’s exactly what Christ does for his church! He serves and satisfies us as members of his body. For this reason a man is to leave his father and his mother and lovingly hold to his wife, since the two have become joined as one flesh. Ephesians 5:21-31 (TPT)

Produced below is the essence of what is being communicated to the husband and the wife, and is intended to bring clarity so each can work to fulfil their role in the building and savouring of a mutually beneficial relationship:

1. Men like to feel appreciated, and women like to feel loved.
2. Men want respect, and women want love.
3. Men need support, and women need to feel safe.
4. Men want trust, and women want attention.
5. Men value loyalty, and women value devotion.
6. Men look for a purpose, and women enjoy being creative.
7. Men enjoy admiration, and women need validation.

You should reflect upon these and make a conscientious attempt to shift and build for a better relationship in the year ahead. May the grace of God enable you. Shalom.

Pastor Afolabi Oladele