Paul, in a passage
of great beauty, lifted the marriage law to a higher
dimension when he added to the figure of God as the husband
of Israel, that of Christ as the bridegroom of the ecclesia.
In clear terms he
showed that as Christ is the head of the ecclesia so must
the man be the head of the wife: the husband who fails to
realize his spiritual responsibility in this respect, and
the wife who fails to be dutiful to her husband, are
disobedient to the teaching of Jesus. But neither must
dominate the other; neither must live his life, even in the
service of the Truth, regardless of the other.
The husband who
gives himself to spiritual service without regard to the
possible psychological and spiritual consequences to a wife
who has to pursue her lonely task of caring for a family, is
guilty of a lack of spiritual proportion; and the wife who
throws herself so completely into spiritual activities as to
neglect both husband and family, is likewise guilty.
Jesus gave his
life for the ecclesia; that is how the husband, even though
he is the head, should love his wife; the ecclesia is the
bride of Christ, and that is how the wife should love her
husband ...
Marriage,
properly understood and lived, is a part of the divine
fellowship in which love, patience, sympathy, understanding
and service can be truly learned, and happy is the couple
from whom these flow to the rest of the household of faith,
for their reward will be the eternal blessing of God, the
Father.