Introduction: Today, wives and mothers will be recognized in a variety of ways. Maybe flowers. Maybe a special lunch or dinner. Maybe a special card, letter, or gift. Sometimes recognized from a place of love, admiration, celebration. Sometimes recognized out of a sense of duty. Sadly, sometimes not recognized at all. But today, the greatest gift a man could give to his wife — the mother of their children — is to live as a godly husband and a godly father. The greatest gift a man gives to his entire family, including his mother and father, is to live toward his wife in the way that God has set forth in His Word. When I used to talk to my children about their future, and my prayers for their future marriage, if it was God’s will that they be married, I would tell them this: “I don’t pray that you will marry someone who simply loves you. I pray that you will marry someone who loves Christ. Because if they love Christ, they WILL love you.” The breakdown when it comes to love in a marriage, or in a home, is ULTIMATELY a spiritual problem. When you meet with professing Christians who are bitter toward their spouse, holding grudges, cold, unfeeling, TRANSACTIONAL, you are meeting with people who are either LOST, or saved people who HAVE LOST THEIR WAY. What has happened is an unbiblical closing of the heart. Did you know that even Christians can be guilty of closing the heart? ESV 2 Corinthians 6:11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. 13 In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also. The kind of love that Christians are commanded to practice is a love that requires a heart that is open — a heart that is SENSITIVE toward its object. We are commanded to love others as God has loved us. We are commanded to love in a way that requires a heart made tender by the grace of God. A kind of sensitivity toward another person that REQUIRES forgiveness. ESV Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. ESV Colossians 3:12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. You will notice that not only CAN this be chosen, but it MUST also be chosen, if we are God’s chosen ones. It is no accident that right after Peter finishes his instruction to believers that addresses attitudes and behaviors in a variety of relationships, including how husbands relate to their wife, he wrote this. ESV 1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. So, this morning, on this Mother’s Day, I want us to see the kind of man that makes for a godly home. We will see FIVE CHARACTERISTICS of the man who contributes to a godly home. I. HE IS A CONVERTED MAN (these are Christian responsibilities) This point is obvious, but it must not be taken for granted. It is obvious that Peter is writing to believers. It is also obvious that what he calls for in this verse REQUIRES genuine faith. The husbands he addresses are “fellow heirs” of God’s grace in life (we’ll talk more about “the grace of life” later). The husbands he addresses are men who engage in prayer and certainly would not want their prayers hindered. Let us be clear and let us always be reminded: A. A CHRISTIAN MAN IS NOT CHRISTIAN JUST BECAUSE HE SAYS SO B. A CHRISTIAN MAN IS NOT CHRISTIAN JUST BECAUSE HE TRIES TO BEHAVE SO C. A CHRISTIAN MAN IS NOTHING LESS THAN A TRANSFORMED MAN He is a new creation. He has a new nature. He has ears that hear the instruction of God. He has a heart that has been made tender by the grace of God and therefore is sensitive — not only to God’s commands — but to HIS OWN SIN.