“Husbanding” is not a word we use much anymore. But the concept is in the Bible. In the King James Version of the English Bible, in John 15:1 Jesus says, “I am the vine; my Father is the husbandman.” More recent translations use the word “gardener” rather than husbandman.

But does the Bible word “husband” also relate to marriage? Pastor Ray Ortlund answers yes. “The husband must husband. The word is not just a noun; it’s a verb too.”[1]

If you are a husband, you may never have thought of your wife as a beautiful garden that needs and deserves careful tending. Yet Pastor Ortlund goes on to say, “To husband your wife means to tend her the way God tends us, to watch over her, care for her, take away carefully anything that shouldn’t be there, nurture her, and keep her thriving and productive and beautiful.”

Husbanding your wife means standing between her and the hard knocks. Care for her, look after her, ask how she feels. Be sure she gets enough sleep. Assume financial responsibility for her. That’s husbanding the way God designed it to be. To husband your wife will challenge you all your life. It will be God’s way to grow you up, and make you truly male in the most godly use of that word. [2] [end quote]

May I challenge you today, men, to spend a few moments thinking of your wife as a lovely garden that can profit greatly from your special attention and care? If you apply that concept of being her gardener, you may be surprised at the way she responds with the increased special attention and care you crave.

[1] Mark Ellis, “God’s wonderful plan for married sex,” God Reports, http://godreports.com,  January 11, 2020

[2] Ibid.