Ah, Valentines Day. It is fast approaching, and florists everywhere rejoice at the thought! Valentine's Day is THE Day... the Special Day of Love... the Holiday of Intimacy and Romance... the Evening of Flowers, Chocolates, and Fine Dining. And for many hard-working (and forgetful) men like me, it's the time-honored Afternoon of Extreme Panic and Anxiety searching for a place, any place, that has decent roses, low prices and short lines!
(All right now... stop judging me. At least I'm honest!)
Let's face it, Valentine's Day is an amorous event of huge significance to most couples (and wannabe couples)... so this Sunday I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk about love, that is, according to God's Word. More specifically, according the the Apostle Paul. After all, he is the author of the most popular expression of love the world has ever known. You know, the uber-famous passage found in 1 Corinthians 13 read at every wedding you've ever attended! However, we're actually going to look at another passage from Paul... the one that speaks directly to husbands and wives (and well, ya... to children and slaves too) about what it means to love one another in everyday life. We may live in a vastly different culture than Paul, but nevertheless, the human condition never changes (and fortunately, neither does God's character), so I believe his words in Ephesians are utterly timeless and powerful in revealing what it means to live as holy citizens in the kingdom of God.
Wait... wait. Before you arrive at that conclusion, let's take a look at what is revealed about the role of husbands:
"For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault."
Wow. Did you catch that? Men are commanded to love their wives, even to the point of dying in their place. And, perhaps more importantly... men are commanded to present their wives as glorious, without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish... holy without fault. Holy without fault... are you kidding me? Now I hear the collective gasps of men everywhere... but hey, you don't know my wife! I mean, she's a fantastic person... but without fault? Without spot or wrinkle? Excuse me... did you say I must be willing to die for her?
Heck... I'm pretty sure most men would rather submit to the authority of their wife than romance her, and continually lift her up as holy!
On the other hand, I'm pretty sure most women would rather romance their husband - even take a sword for them - than submit to their so-called authority.
But what if men did what Paul tells us to do (in God's Word), and accepted the role of spiritual leader in their homes? What if they died to their own ego... and treated their wife as a special gift from God? What if they fiercely protected her reputation among friends, family members, and total strangers? What if they were even willing to die so that she might continue living? Heck... what if he were even willing to be wrong once in a while?!!
I wonder... would that woman be willing to submit to her husband's desires for her life? If she really trusted that he had her best interest at heart? If everything in his words and deeds revealed that he is utterly and completely on her side? If he demonstrated that she is the apple of his eye... the aim and goal of his passion and desire? Would she feel safe enough to trust in his character?
Women need to be loved. Men need to be respected.
Hmmmmm.... almost sounds biblical, huh?
Sorry... gotta get going. I've got to go think about getting Jill something creative for Valentine's Day... something much better than a cheap, half-dead bouquet of supermarket roses and a 99 cent card!
(All right now... stop judging me. At least I'm honest!)
Let's face it, Valentine's Day is an amorous event of huge significance to most couples (and wannabe couples)... so this Sunday I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk about love, that is, according to God's Word. More specifically, according the the Apostle Paul. After all, he is the author of the most popular expression of love the world has ever known. You know, the uber-famous passage found in 1 Corinthians 13 read at every wedding you've ever attended! However, we're actually going to look at another passage from Paul... the one that speaks directly to husbands and wives (and well, ya... to children and slaves too) about what it means to love one another in everyday life. We may live in a vastly different culture than Paul, but nevertheless, the human condition never changes (and fortunately, neither does God's character), so I believe his words in Ephesians are utterly timeless and powerful in revealing what it means to live as holy citizens in the kingdom of God.
First, the Apostle tells wives to submit to their husband as to the Lord. Hoo-boy... I can hear the under-the-breath mutterings of women everywhere. Something like, "No way... I'm not submitting to him. Are you kidding me?" But don't worry ladies, it gets better, I promise. However, I must admit... first it kind of gets worse though. "For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church." Oh, wow... that is just NOT a very PC way of thinking in today's world, huh? We live in an egaltarian society, right? Women aren't under their husbands... they are alongside them as full partners! Obviously, the Bible is just a sexist book, written by men with the sole intention of devaluing women and reducing their status to that of mere property.
"For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault."
Wow. Did you catch that? Men are commanded to love their wives, even to the point of dying in their place. And, perhaps more importantly... men are commanded to present their wives as glorious, without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish... holy without fault. Holy without fault... are you kidding me? Now I hear the collective gasps of men everywhere... but hey, you don't know my wife! I mean, she's a fantastic person... but without fault? Without spot or wrinkle? Excuse me... did you say I must be willing to die for her?
Heck... I'm pretty sure most men would rather submit to the authority of their wife than romance her, and continually lift her up as holy!
On the other hand, I'm pretty sure most women would rather romance their husband - even take a sword for them - than submit to their so-called authority.
But what if men did what Paul tells us to do (in God's Word), and accepted the role of spiritual leader in their homes? What if they died to their own ego... and treated their wife as a special gift from God? What if they fiercely protected her reputation among friends, family members, and total strangers? What if they were even willing to die so that she might continue living? Heck... what if he were even willing to be wrong once in a while?!!
I wonder... would that woman be willing to submit to her husband's desires for her life? If she really trusted that he had her best interest at heart? If everything in his words and deeds revealed that he is utterly and completely on her side? If he demonstrated that she is the apple of his eye... the aim and goal of his passion and desire? Would she feel safe enough to trust in his character?
Women need to be loved. Men need to be respected.
Hmmmmm.... almost sounds biblical, huh?
Sorry... gotta get going. I've got to go think about getting Jill something creative for Valentine's Day... something much better than a cheap, half-dead bouquet of supermarket roses and a 99 cent card!
Wow, Jeff. Well spoken. I am really trying to be exactly as you put it. To be that spiritual leader in our home. My heart feels exactly what you laid out here in regards to my beautiful bride. The problem is my actions don't show it all the time. That is my shortcoming that I am currently wrestling with. Just working on being more disciplined to have more prayer time and just enveloping myself in his word to help me stay on track. Thanks for the inspiration and the words of wisdom in your blog this week. It is awesome buddy.
ReplyDeleteOh...I wish I was going to be here this weekend for this one! When the relationship between a man and woman becomes biblical in nature, it is so AWESOME! It is such an amazing gift to share the love of GOD between a man and a woman...men gotta step up and be spiritual leaders, otherwise, women have no reason to submit to the nature of God in their husbands. Men, we can and must do this! God can give us the strength to love our wives the way Jesus loves his church! I know that I'm currently "blessed" with a shortened frame of reference... But, oh my gosh, a relationship built around God's love is truly beyond belief.
ReplyDeleteI am so grateful for the blessing of the union of man and woman. It is one of the finest gifts this life has to offer! God IS good.
Paul