Marriage—what an amazing gift God gave us. It is complex, yet simple, providing manifold opportunities for grace and growth. It’s funny how every marriage is different, yet similar. Following God’s design, most wedding ceremonies include vows. Often part of the wife’s vow is to follow or obey her husband with wording based on Ephesians 5:22,23.

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” 

Now consider if you had a submissive wife who made her day-to-day decisions in your marriage with the main criteria of not making you angry. When she made a decision, if you were not angry, she was happy that she made a good decision. 

However, what if her desire was simply to please you because of her love for you? Sounds like a wonderful way to live doesn’t it? Now compare that to your life in Christ. Do you make choices so as to avoid sin (making God angry) or that you might please your Savior? I’m saddened that with so many of the believers I know, the appearance is that they make choices simply to avoid sin, not to please Him. May I encourage you that your motive to please Jesus is much better than the motive to avoid causing anger. Oh how sweet the relationship becomes. 

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:21-22).