Ephesians 5:21
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| My husband and I praying with Pastor Joe at our wedding in October 2016. |
The past few days have led me on a journey to discovering what this verse and the two verses that follow really mean for me. Every time I read the word submit, I get a really bad taste in my mouth. I believe that this is a result of how our society in today's world views this word. The world's definition for submit is to give up everything that makes you who you are in order to be able to cater to the needs of someone else. God's definition for this word is so much different. Submit, as it was used in the Bible, means to have a servant's heart and put first the needs of others.
I was primarily studying these verses as it applies to the roles of husband and wife within a marriage. It is truly beautiful how God created man and woman to compliment each other and provide for the needs of each other within the context of a marriage, but the verse above, which preceded the verses about family submission, applies to every one. God wants us to submit to each other out of love and respect to Jesus and what He did for us.This means submission within and outside of the family. We are to submit to each other in a way that shows love and servitude in our daily lives with everyone we come in contact with.
My husband will tell you, with him, I can be very opinionated and outspoken. This is not something I am proud of as it relates to our marriage. Each day, God is giving me opportunities to grow in this area and to trust my husband's leadership. In this way, I am also having to grow in my faith of God's authority and leadership. It is a challenge that I am faced with each day, but it is one that I know will only bring good to the life that my husband and I are building together.
Sometimes, it can be so hard to follow the selfless example Jesus gave us. We are humanly inclined to be selfish. To think of ourselves and our needs first, as I mentioned in my last post about loving on others who are hard to love. It may be easier to be selfless when we are dealing with family members who we know love us. However, I know I have been guilty of feeling bitter when when it feels like I am doing so much more for my husband that what he is doing for me. That is the selfish self-talk that Satan uses to derail us from living on a right path with God and with our family. He uses situations within our own households against us.
My plan is to be more aware of when this is happening, pray for God's voice in my heart rather than Satan's, and to realize that my husband has a different role than I do. It is not his job to do all of the things that I do I was doing some research while studying these verses and I came across something that really clicked with me. It was talking about how Paul, in these verses, was describing how each person in a family has different needs and how God created each person to satisfy these needs for the others. It said that children need instruction (provided by the parents), women need to feel cherished (provided by the husband), and men need to lead (provided by the submission of their wives).
My challenge to you today is to think about an area or relationship in your life where you need to be more submissive. Ask yourself How do I feel about this? Am I bitter? Do I truly have a servant's heart in this situation? Pray and ask God to help you to have a servant's heart as it relates to your relationships with others.
Rejoice in the truth of Christ, today!
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