This passage in Ephesians ends with instructions for husbands and wives to apply to their relationship. They are to become one flesh and start a family apart from their parents. Husbands are to love their wives as themselves, and wives are to respect their husbands. It is because of the profound mystery – that marriage reflects the relationship between Christ and the church – that these actions are important.
Many different kinds of people get married. But no matter how different our backgrounds or personalities are from our spouses, we can build a Christ-centered relationship that honors God when we approach the marriage covenant with love and respect. This scripture guidance also teaches my husband and me how to create a strong foundation for our family to experience the joy of living faithfully and obediently under God. Culture tries to define what relationships, marriage, and family should be, but the Word is our ultimate standard.
Likewise, the church, though made up of people with many different experiences, talents, and personalities, can create a Christ-centered community that brings glory to God. Just as a new family is formed with a marriage, when we begin following Christ as an individual, we leave behind our old identity and join the family of Jesus – the church. The markers of members of this family are also love and respect. Jesus cares for us, his church, because he loves us deeply. And because Christ first loved us, we give him our respect (and our praise, submission, love, etc.) as the head of the body of believers. This dynamic is starkly different from the norms of our world and is why the church is truly the light on the hill for all to see.