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Browse through and read hundreds of articles on the topic of marriage
The idea of unconditional respect for the husband has always been the Love and Respect message’s unique feature, based on Ephesians 5:33. Many books stress Paul’s instruction for husbands to love their wives (“each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself . . .”), but few spend equal space if any at all, to the rest of the verse (“. . . and the wife must respect her husband”).
Many wives share disappointment that their husbands rarely talk to them at a deeper level. “Emerson, when we were dating, we used to talk long into the night getting to really know each other. What happened to him?”
In the beginning, after God had created Adam and placed him in the garden to cultivate it, He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18).
In the Bible, we find two realities to which we are to respond: God’s commands and God’s promises. God calls us to obey His commands and trust His promises. Most of us have sung the song "Trust and Obey,” which captures these two quintessential truths.
There are certain phrases we have been programmed to understand in a specific way whenever we hear them. For example, if someone says to us, “We need to talk,” we know there is bad news to come and we get in defensive mode.
Have you been infected with the disease of Love and Respect? Has the message of Ephesians 5:33 so contaminated you that it oozes from your pores? Are you so contagious that when you sneeze you infect others with the same Love and Respect disease? As you share the good things happening to you, does this create an enthusiasm in others to hear more?
Though you are not experiencing as much fulfillment in your marriage as you expect, can you experience fulfillment from doing God’s purpose in your marriage? Have you ever prayed about discovering God’s purpose for you in the marriage apart from your spouse? PRAY: Father, forgive me for thinking in the midst of this marital pain and struggle that my life is lacking purpose.
When you feel helpless in your marriage, where do you turn? Is this moment of feeling weak an opportunity to encounter the power of God on your behalf? If so, how do you receive this inner power? PRAY: Lord, Your Word says that Your grace is sufficient for me and that Your power is made perfect in my weakness.
When anxious about the stresses swirling about your marriage, do you experience God’s peace in your heart? If not, what can you do? PRAY: Lord, I know You say in Your Word, “My peace I give unto you.” Right now, right here, I ask You to grant me Your peace.
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