Gave Himself Up For Her

Yesterday's post focused on wives, so today we're focusing on husbands. And more importantly, a God fearing one.

For a few months now, sitting on one of Daddy's dresser is an unsigned sheet of paper with the title at the top "The Resolution." It's a copy of the resolution Daddy signed after reading the book The Resolution for Men. I love this resolution, because it's what a husband should be. If husbands are the head of the household then they have a huge responsibility to our Father and to their families. It's printed at the back of the book. It speaks of being the spiritual leader in the home, loving and protecting his wife and children, being faithful to his wife, training his children in love and have mercy, forgiving, working diligently, learning from mistakes and honoring God. Men who sign this resolution, promise to follow it for the rest of their lives. When Daddy signed this form, he stood before our church with me by his side, making this promise to me, his children and to God. It was a powerful and meaningful moment. The Resolution is framed and hangs in our bedroom as a constant reminder.

This is what we want for our future son-in-law and for our son. We want you to read and complete that book, sign the form before your beloved, and adhere to it for the rest of your life. We want you to do that on behalf of our daughter and future daughter-in-law that we love so much. We feel those ladies deserve this, because it's required of their husbands according to the Word. Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her." If you are the man Christ calls you to be, it will be so much easier for your wife to be the woman Christ has called her to be.

Ayla commented after attending the Art of Marriage conference recently how depressing and discouraging it was to hear from couples who's marriages had been so destructive. She questioned how they could let them get that way. But never forget it's Satan's target to destroy the family in any possible way. If a marriage is representative of Christ's relationship to the church, then to destroy it is prime real estate for the evil one. So be cautious, guarded and fully committed to God. Hold your marriage to a high standard. Signing the Resolution, is a good place to start.

Discussion: Have you finished reading The Resolution For Men? Can you confidently sign the resolution? What are other ways to protect your marriage and family?

Prayer: Lord, our marriages are yours, and oftentimes we forget that. We pray, Lord, that these couples as newlyweds will be committed to you. That the men will be committed to their wives and children. Let their marriages be to your glory. In Jesus our King, Amen.

Does That Really Say, "Submit?"

A week ago when Daddy and I were traveling to the beach, he asked me to read Ephesians to him. He is thinking about doing a sermon series on this epistle of Paul's and wanted to hear it read to him again. I say "again," because he had just recently listened to it on Bible Gateway. You can always get a fresh perspective of Scripture every time you listen to or read it (as we mentioned in Wednesday's post). So I read it to him. When I got to chapter 5, I read this aloud to him from verse 22:

"Wives, control your husbands..."

I stopped and looked out of the corner of my eye at my husband. He looked back at me out of the corner of his eye and said, "Stop it," as I burst into giggles. He knew I was not reading the Word directly. It actually says, "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." For someone as independent and in control as me, that verse can be a tough pill to swallow. Submit? Are kidding? If there is one thing my personality does not willingly agree to it's that whole submit thing. I mean, for crying out loud, he could be wrong! And I'm just supposed to submit to that? 

But God does not intend that wives submit in a doormat fashion. Matter of fact, Paul clarifies his comment in verse 33 of Ephesians 5 where he tells wives to "respect" their husbands. God wants husbands and wives to be a team. He calls the wife a "helpmate" in Genesis 2:18 when He first creates woman. While the husband is submissive to God, Paul says just a paragraph later in Ephesians 5 that God calls the husband to care for his wife as Christ does for the church. It's a pretty good system. 

Someone is the CEO of a company. Someone makes the decisions and is responsible for them. In God's eyes, the husband is that of the married couple. While those decisions are made jointly, in prayer and with love, the buck stops with the hubby. Now we know our girls: both Ayla and Kayla are strong women. They are stubborn, intelligent and independent ladies. Praise God for that, because Rob and Anton are not getting patsy girls. They can count on getting honest advice from their future wives. But with that means, the girls will have to sometimes tone it down a bit in respect to their future husbands. Speaking from experience, trust me, that can be a difficult process. But know that God places quite a bit of responsibility on the husbands as head of the household. And with prayer, as a team, you couples will do so well in serving and making decisions in Christ for God.

So hang in there, couples. God's got a workable program there that requires cooperation. And having watched you interacting in the past, we already see it working.

Discussion: Is submit a tough thing for ladies to hear? Guy, what do you think of the responsibility God places on you as head of the spiritual household? How do you couples think that will play out in your future marriages?

Prayer: Lord, we are yours. We submit to your rule, authority, love and direction. We know You have our best interests at heart. Father, we pray we can be a good team in serving you. That wives will respect their husband and husbands will love their wives sacrificially the same way Jesus does the church. May you be glorified in it all, Lord Jesus, Amen.