Subscription Lists

"I think husbands can love their wives by showing affection, by saying, 'I love you,' helping with the dishes, cleaning the house and picking up the kids from school," says Karen, age 11. "Or husbands can pay a lot of attention once in a while or maybe cook breakfast in bed."

Cook breakfast in bed? OK, but don't try waffles. Too messy. That reminds me of a refrigerator magnet that read, "If you want breakfast in bed, sleep in the kitchen."

"Husbands should love their wives because it is very sweet," says Blake, 8. "You can have a wife that is pregnant or a wife that is not pregnant. But if you have a wife that is pregnant, you will have a little girl or a little boy."

Blake, you are most observant. I'll let your parents fill in the details.

"A husband should be nice and caring every day, and he should tell other people he loves his wife. The husband should also be honest," says Anissa, 7.

Dishonesty has ruined many marriages.

"Husbands should be fair in all ways and help out around the house," says Zachary, 7. "It is not fair for wives to teach children how to wash clothes and dishes."

Zachary, this may seem like a great injustice, but I predict that your view will change when you have kids.

Zachary, you probably wouldn't get along with Brandon, 9. He has a different view: "My wife is not going to cook. I am. I am going to help clean. I'm going to have three children and a dog."

Brandon, you'll also need a fat wallet if you marry Lindy, 7: "Husbands should take their wives to Rome and to a very nice restaurant. They should kiss their wives a lot and not sin."

Moving right along, Sara, 10, recommends words, as well as actions: "Husbands should pay compliments, be kind, have good manners and be polite. These are all that my dad does to my mom every day. Sometimes, it's just a little something that makes a wife love her husband. All men have different ways of being kind to their wives."

All marriage experts agree that every man must learn the language that communicates love to his wife. It's a number of small things that add up to big communication. Husbands who look for creative ways to express their love will find their wives responsive to their needs. A guy may not feel like a knight in shining armor, but if he starts acting like one, he'll probably find that his wife will act like a beautiful princess.

Take some communication tips from Josh, 10: "If you don't agree on something, I would just talk very nice and figure out what you are going to do. And don't get mad at each other. Don't talk bad about them to other people like your friends and family. Most important, you are supposed to love them with all your heart."

This command for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church is impossible unless they keep in mind a principle from Zachary, 7: "Husbands should love their wives because God loves them."

Think about this: When a husband considers how Jesus loved the church in the pouring out of his life, loving his wife in this way seems impossible. That's why every husband must start with the fact that God loves his wife with the kind of love that led Jesus to a cruel death on a lonely cross.

Memorize this truth: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her." (Ephesians 5:25)

Ask this question: If you don't see your wife as God does, can you ask God to give you the eyes of faith to see her as a fragrant rose?

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

The First Sin