The Perfect Husband

While listening to a song this week by Derek Webb, I was struck by a powerful truth that has put me in a state of thought all week. In the song, "Wedding Dress", these lyrics, that I have heard many times before, resonated with new meaning:

Because money cannot buy
A husband's jealous eye
When you have knowingly deceived his wife

Although we rarely think of Him in this way, Jesus is the perfect husband (or groom). In Scripture, He is described as the Groom, and His Church (His followers/believers/Christians) is referred to as His bride. Nothing deters Him from loving, protecting, and advocating for Her, among other things. When sin was in the way, He paid the ultimate price to get it out of the way...to secure the relationship He wanted with her (His bride...us!).

As a man, I am not perfect. I fail...a lot. In the Garden of Eden, Adam did not fight for and protect Eve when she was being tempted, and, I think we all (men) can relate to that kind of failure. If not, we need to get real with ourselves! However, where we all have failed, Jesus has come through for his bride in every way. Where Adam did not "stand in the gap" for Eve, Jesus does so for us constantly. We are tempted often. However, unlike Adam in that moment of passivity, Jesus is there fighting for us. His Truth is being spoken to us as we need it. He loves us, and He can be very kind and gentle. But He can also be ferocious in fighting for who He loves (see the book of Revelation). He takes His relationship with us seriously, even when we fail to do so.

As a man who is quite aware of my imperfections as a husband, father, son, brother, friend, co-worker, etc., my only hope in being the man God created me to be in those relationships is to trust the One who never fails us. Adam's problem on that fateful day in the garden was not that he did not push himself hard enough to "step up and be a man", it was that he had lost sight of the truths about His Father (God) that would have overpowered any fears he may have had...which inevitably led to him remaining silent while his wife was being deceived.

And although I realize I must tread carefully in addressing ladies when it comes to this truth about Christ (because I am obviously not a lady), I do not think it is out of bounds for me to state that trusting in any man to give you what only Christ can give you is going to lead to disappointment. Men are in a position that can ultimately reflect the image of the Perfect Husband, and, when we are walking in truth, we often are the conduit by which the Lord meets many of your needs. However, we are not, and can never be, the ultimate source of what you need.