Being married today is not easy for couples and especially including Christian couples. There is much difficulty for couples of all ages regarding finances, child rearing, adultery, divorce, and so on. I want to reach out to those couples and tell them that God wants them to be happily married; in fact, he designed marriage and He has given us the rules for households. 1 Timothy 3:12 "A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well." We realize that every Christian man is a deacon. Ephesians 5:22-23 "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the
church." I was reminded of this just the other day on Moody Radio... that the husband is the Christ of the house, he leads his wife and children.This is not an easy job for any man. They discussed that what makes it hard for men to do/be what they have been called to do is when their wife does not let them lead. I have to agree as one guilty of that. Wives have been called to submit. A lot of us don't like hearing that given all the articles and news media programs that tell us women must be empowered! We have been empowered by God and in that we have also been asked to submit to our husband who also has been empowered. The number one defense is "well what about when a husband abuses his wife". Yes, of course there are legitimate incident of abuse. I am not dismissing that. However, we cannot assume that all instances in a married life will lead to abuse if a woman submits. First, you have to realize and accept that 'submit' as a word in the Bible (God's word) means to come under authority and to respect that... such respect is for God's glory, for His social hierarchy. Still, in this day and age, I have been guilty of rejecting that and that is a sin.
There are rules for Christian households- see Colossians 3:18. I try to follow God's word for living as a submissive wife, it is not easy for me and I have made it difficult for my husband, not everyday but in small instances. I have put demands on him that he is not able to meet. This morning, I was reading Amos today, like many times when I read scripture, I try to understand how it can apply to my life as a wife, as a Christian. As a sinner, one can be caught by God's words and feel shame and even anger that our sin has been revealed to us. As I just mentioned, I read Amos this morning and it happened to me. "Listen to me, you fat cows living in Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, and who are always calling to your husbands, "Bring us another drink!" The Sovereign Lord has sworn this by his holiness: The time will come when you will be led away with hooks in your noses. Every last one of you will be dragged away like a fish on a hook! You will be led out through the ruins of the wall; you will be thrown from your fortresses, says the Lord." Amos 4: 1-4 I didn't think that was me and probably you will say the same. When I read that, I thought this woman's 'wife's' behavior sounds like that of a lazy couch potato making demands. Though her punishment seems pretty harsh, I had to agree that she is going against God's social hierarchy. Now, some of you like me have thought it is old testament when people lived under the law and I am now beyond such judgement and condemnation. Or, regarding the Old Testament, we have heard some Christians say that those stories are metaphors for wider society, even a nation. And, that was in the past. Yet, when I read it, I feel something more personal about God's word. We must remember that God's word is for us and we must consider His way of giving His Word to us even when we think that such scripture has nothing to do with us. As Christians, I think that we must consider the Old Testament always in relation to the New and try understand that though our sins have been covered by the Blood of the Lamb, we are still asked to live under God's hierarchy - His social 'family' order. We can read about His social 'family' order in many New Testament scriptures; which I have pointed in many past posts. Ephesians 5:22-23 "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church." Colossians 3:18 "Wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord." God's word is to see that in His word, we can trust Him in His word and rest in Him that all will be ok.
Let the head of your household lead you this Christmas, let your husband have his God given role! Because, this is letting Jesus lead!
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