A Great Mystery

On weekday evenings, my wife, Vicki, and I can usually be found in our favorite seats in our living room, with Vicki knitting while I read. Occasionally I’ll glance at her from over my book, and often I am filled with a rush of gratitude and wonder—grateful for over 42 years of marriage and awed by how intimately our two lives are intertwined.

In his discussion of household relationships in Ephesians 5, Paul addresses marriage. Noting the calls of husbands and wives from different angles, he points out that both spouses are to submit to each other “out of reverence for Christ.” According to Paul, the physical and spiritual union of husband and wife points to an even more profound mystery: the union between Christ and his bride, the church.

Being married isn't necessary for being able to understand some of the mystery in Christ’s relationship with the church. Paul wasn’t married, and yet through his relationship with Jesus and his experience of the Holy Spirit’s work in his heart, he could attest to Jesus’ sacrificial love, his cherishing favor, his spiritual nourishment, and, above all, his unconditional acceptance and forgiveness.

Jesus’ love for his bride, the church, embraces people of every language and nation under heaven.

In what ways can the Lord’s love inspire us to care for and work with each other in his body, the church worldwide?