Reading
SAA Notes
Family life is an integral facet of congregational life, as is your personal spiritual life. Wives, husbands, children and fathers are all asked to do things they find hard and a struggle. Do you give the other credit for how hard their struggle is?
SJA Notes
* Holy God, please open our hearts to understand Your word to us today.
“Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”
This is a hard word to hear!
It’s so very counter to the world, at any time throughout history.
Submission itself is hard to practice, hard to put into place. Treating our parents with honor, the same. And obedience in a master/slave situation – we dare not raise the idea in our current time.
The world and our own pride would tell us that WE are more important than that. Our SELF is to be raised up.
But God’s word is not like other words, not like other wisdom.
God gave up His very life, in the Person of the Son (Jesus), for a people who were His enemies.
While on earth, we see God the Son _submitting_ to God the Father, even to the cross bearing the full wrath of God for the sins of His people.
If our king did this, then certainly we can practice other-centeredness here on earth (think of the inheritance waiting).
In our marriages. With our parents and our children. In our working relationships.
Let us resist the voice (inner or outer) that says pride in self is moral and righteous, and instead let us take Jesus as our example.
* God Above,
Please humble us under Your mighty hand, so that at the right time, You will lift us up.
Amen.