“23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”
Ephesians 5:23-25 (TNIV)
Have you had a problem with that verse before? Hmm be honest. Isn’t hard to submit some times to God nerveless to another human being?
I am sure so many of you out there are woman who strong in mind and personality and won’t like to hear that word to submit.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”
Ephesians 5:23-25 (TNIV)
Have you had a problem with that verse before? Hmm be honest. Isn’t hard to submit some times to God nerveless to another human being?
I am sure so many of you out there are woman who strong in mind and personality and won’t like to hear that word to submit.
So, lets think about how we should submit to God first. When God promises his protection and love to us, he makes a covenant with us to deliver his promises.
Now question yourselves, how you get to enjoy his love and protection. The answer is within submiting. As we choose to go under the Lord authority, we choose to enjoy his blessing and the deliverance of his promises to us.
Remember God always give us the power to choose him or others. But as we submit/choose him, we trust him to do the right thing and expect that even though his decisions maybe different from ours, that he wants and does what is best for us.
The amazing thing about that is that when we submit to God, we do it with all love and willing heart. As a result even when he decides differently for us, we take it with an open heart and less doubtfully.
Now question yourselves, how you get to enjoy his love and protection. The answer is within submiting. As we choose to go under the Lord authority, we choose to enjoy his blessing and the deliverance of his promises to us.
Remember God always give us the power to choose him or others. But as we submit/choose him, we trust him to do the right thing and expect that even though his decisions maybe different from ours, that he wants and does what is best for us.
The amazing thing about that is that when we submit to God, we do it with all love and willing heart. As a result even when he decides differently for us, we take it with an open heart and less doubtfully.
Now, let’s turn back to our partners and our husbands to be exact. I am not going to tell you that God commended you to submit to him. But I am asking you? Do you trust your husband? Do you believe that he will do what ever is in his power to protect you and provide for you? Does he tries to learn to be more like Jesus and set a good example for your and for your family?
Before you answer all the questions, let me ask you another question. Do you expect that your husband some times makes the wrong decision?
Let me explain, sometime we hold our husbands to such high standard like Jesus and expect them to be like that since you as a wives submit to them, which is totally wrong.
But our trust in them should not fail, nor our love. Your respect to him should not shake. Instead we should embrace them with patience and mercy as they try harder next time.
But our trust in them should not fail, nor our love. Your respect to him should not shake. Instead we should embrace them with patience and mercy as they try harder next time.
Here is my two sense, wives need to love their husband and trust them and understand that they entered with their husbands under a covenant which allow you to enjoy his love and protection as you embrace submission to him. You need to express your trust in him by submitting to him with love just as we do with God.
Stuart Greaves said, “submission is just letting your husband love you.”. As we enter and accept God authority over us, we allowing God to love us and embraces us with his blessing.
If you change your attitude toward this verse and think of it that way, your perspective of marriage will be totally different. I want you to think about how powerful you are, making that choice of allowing your husband to love you as you submit to him.
Remember that the covenant you entered with your husband isn’t conditional contract. His love is extended no matter you choose to submit to him or not. But think of the advantage that you and your family will enjoy as you allow him to love you.
Husbands and Wives, remember that you both are there to wash each other feet.
I really encourge you to read Humble Submission by Paul J. Bucknell
I would also like to hear your comments.
4 comments:
I don't know Moods, I myself have a problem with this passage and I think there's more to it than it seems on the surface...Obviously there's the clear analogy of us submitting to God (as the bride submitting to her groom), but to continue with the analogy, God (the groom) gave his life for the church (the bride), an even more ultimate form of submission, to the point of sacrificing oneself completely for the other. So if we use this analogy, I think the man has a much more difficult role than the woman in a marriage, one of complete self-sacrifice for his bride.
Aside from that though, in light of Paul's words on the equality of all in Christ (there is no slave or free, male or female), I tend to view marriage as more of union between two equals...whether in marriage or ministry, I believe in the equality of men and women...I think if as husbands, as church members, as Christians, we were to treat women the way Jesus treated them, we would be living in an entirely different world...
Jimmy,
I think we both agree on the same thing. Paul also said, submit to one another. No one is taking it beyound that.
What I am trying to explain, that once a wife trust her husband in loving her and careing for her, it would be much eaiser when it comes to diffcult time when they disagree.
We need to estblish that loving husband is a must, but my understanding of the passage is that even in some situtions summission is required as our love should not be conditional on the status of our partner.
So, my explainasion goes beyond the point of condtion and allow us to enjoy the blessing of love as we submit to God authority.
Thanks for your comment, please keep them coming.
I think "power struggle" is a major problem in many marriages. If only..wives would obey God's command to submit to their husbands, the couples could easily avoid many "power struggle" episodes, if not all. For me, it's a joy and a privilege to submit to my husband. He is the head/the leader of our family. So many responsibilities rest on his shoulders. He loves me very much and would give his life up for me. The least I can do is to love, respect, serve him, and to submit to him cheerfully and humbly. Submission is a sweet, beautiful thing! :) By the way, my husband values my opinions very much.
Men and women, husbands and wives are equal, but they have different roles. We need to follow Biblical principles, not the world's standards.
LivingForGod's comment reminded me of a question me and my husband have been discussing at different points... I think it's easy to understand how to love your wife, but sometimes, us women don't know what it really means in practical terms to respect your husband. Maybe you can explore that more Moods and Joicy.
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