However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.  Ephesians 5:33 (NIV)

The genuine respect I feel for my husband is actually a blessing for me.  I am thankful that he lives his life in such a way that elicits my respect.

As scripture admonishes a Christian wife to respect her husband, it also admonishes her husband to love her.  The two go hand in hand.

It is a great blessing when a wife’s respect for her husband flows freely, as a natural result of his loving behavior toward her.  My husband and I often wonder why any couple would want to “mess up” this beautiful dynamic with thoughtless words, anger, or selfishness.

Maybe they haven’t experienced it, so they don’t know what they’re missing?

I respect my husband’s character, his basic decency, and his love for God.  I often describe him to others as a godly man whose relationship with God affects how he treats me.

I respect his commitment to being the spiritual leader of our home.  When we are home together he leads in devotional reading and prayer each night.  And when we happen to be apart due to travel, he leads in devotional reading and prayer each night … by telephone.

This blesses me and draws us closer together … on all levels.

I encourage you to be intentional about treating your husband with respect.  May you experience the blessing of having a loving and respectful marriage!