Husbands are commanded to love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, and soul (see Matthew 22:37). Next to that, they're told to love their wives as Christ loved the church (see Ephesians 5:25).
These two things are just commands given to any husband. The question is, does the husband want to do them?
All husbands around the world desire many different, but similar, things: a high-paying job, nice family car, loving relationship with his wife, and very good relationship with his kids.
These and many other desires are good, but the Bible tells us there are desires that are far greater than these.
Here are some things that any godly husband should desire and pursue.
1. To Love God Above All
The Bible indeed tells all husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church. But before husbands can do that, they all need to love God first. Why?
Jesus said the first and greatest commandment is to love God. And it's not just loving God like how we love others: It's to love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul (see Matthew 22:37).
In fact, His command indirectly tells us to love God more than ourselves! What Jesus said meant desiring God, thinking about God, meditating on God, longing for God, and craving for God—more than any other.
And yes, that's priority number one.
2. To Be Like Christ
Before we excitedly jump into the "loving others" part, we all need next to desire to be like Christ. The Bible indeed told us to love our wives like Christ loved the church, so before we could do that, we should first desire to become like Christ.
Christ-likeness is the ultimate goal of Christianity. It's not ministry, not being an "anointed" person, and not being a good man. It's Christ-likeness. God has predestined that all who believe in the Lord Jesus and are saved by Him will be transformed into His likeness. (see Romans 8:29)
Think about it: We want to be a good husband, and so we look to other great men. Why not look at the greatest lover of all time – Jesus – instead?
3. To Love Our Wives as Christ Loved the Church
Now we proceed to loving our wives. Have you noticed that "loving others" isn't part of this three-item list? It's because all husbands should prioritise their wives more than any other human relationship. The marriage has to come before other connections.
Jesus, quoting Genesis 2:24, said in Matthew 19:5 that, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
A married man is united to his wife, and thus must realise that the most important human relationship that he has isn't with the boys at work, or with his children. It's with his wife.
A Call to Desire God
Friends, I am a husband myself, and I know that the greatest pursuit we could ever have is to follow God. Let's desire Him more than any other thing in this world.
