Thoughts
Well, here I am again...finally
First I want to thank those who have left comments...I'll be going back soon and replying to some of them
Secondly I want to explore a thought for a bit. I won't be coming to a conclusion as this is still a topic I'm pondering and have been for quite some time, but getting the thoughts out is helpful. Do feel free to comment on them! Feedback is always helpful
In Ephesians 5, verses 21 through 24 it states:
submitting to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is head of the wife as also Christ is head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
This has always been a portion of scripture that has caused me stress and a degree of fearfulness. What exactly IS submission?
The funny thing is that before I was a Christian, I'd developed the view that marriage is a PARTNERSHIP, with both husband and wife having a say in things, both opinions being valued, the wife being a partner and an equal. I still hold this view
The view that I've run across on Christian message boards is that the wife has very little say and has to "submit" to everything, no matter if it's going to be destructive or not. After all, the husband has the "final say" and can override her at anytime. She's simply there to adore and respect him and to silently bear the burden of being the submissive partner. What comes across...unspoken, to be sure, but still heard is that the wife is to be a doormat, a subserviant slave waiting on her husband hand and foot with no rights, no opinion allowed, no say in anything.
Not a nice view, and one that I reject wholeheartedly. A wife is NOT a child, a husband is NOT her parent. Both are adults, with wisdom, life experiences, and valuable input. They
ARE partners in the best sense of the word, and when both are committed to following and obeying God and esteeming each other:
Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men.
as stated above in Philippians 2:3-7, then I believe a wonderful thing begins to happen...
When a wife has confidence that her husband is seeking to do God's will, that he loves her and wants the best for her and will provide and care for her just as he would for himself, then trusting him is easier and comes more naturally.
Husbands, love your wives, just as also Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, to make her holy, cleansing her in the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh, but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, since we are members of His body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.
~ Ephesians 5:25-33
More to come later, and comments are welcome
