Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife just as
Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. As the church is subordinate to Christ, so
wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved
the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by
the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in
splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and
without blemish.
So (also) husbands should love their wives as
their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather
nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are
members of his body.
"For this reason a man shall leave (his)
father and (his) mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh."
This is a great mystery, but I speak in
reference to Christ and the church. In
any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should
respect her husband.
Wives, be subject to your husbands.
This isn’t a suggestion, it’s a command.
What does that really mean?
If there was one line in the ENTIRE BIBLE that I struggled
to accept, it was that one.
I’m a Marine Corps Officer who is in charge of a group of
some of the most masculine men that you could ever find who outnumber me twenty
to one. I played ice hockey, I
crossfit. I was raised by a single
mother in the most formative years of my life.
Father figures and men in general had a tendency to walk out on me. Me, my mother and my sister were frequently
left alone to take care of ourselves.
Being subject to someone means that you give yourself
over. That you accept them being in
charge. That you are not in
control. When you don’t trust someone to
be an effective Lord, It is an impossible command to follow.
Rather than hold myself accountable to make an effort to
understand what Paul meant when stated that women were to be subject to their
husbands, I immediately rejected the entire idea. Rejection of any teaching outright is a bad
place to be. It tears away at the
Truth.
I, and many of my strong willed female friends put it away;
no man would tell us what to do! I will be found equal in any partnership in my
household.
Brothers and Sisters, Marriage equality is a lie. Marriage isn’t a contract that you can void
at any time that your spouse suddenly doesn’t make you happy or treats you
exactly the way that you wanted in that way that you wanted it. It isn’t you do your thing and I’ll do
mine. It isn’t a compromise where you
give up your God, your values and who you are to make your spouse “happy”.
Marriage is a covenant; a promise to God that you will
glorify Him on Earth. That you will lead
your spouse,
your family to Jesus Christ.
It is the foundation of our Church.
The reason that I did not understand and accept this verse,
is because I let my own view of the world color my perception of the word of
God. I was offended by the notion of
being subject to rule by my husband. I
did not read or care about the rest of these verses, where my husband is called
to cherish and protect me.
To purify and
sanctify me. To Lead me.
I relegated this awesomeness and amazing grace that my
husband would bring to my home as the head of our domestic church, my lover and
protector in the name of “equality”.
It was no wonder that in my life, I was quickly following
the path of my family in compromise of my values, pandering to others and
questioning the Truth. It was no wonder
that I was so “strong” in my work life and showing a face to my female friends
but I let my boyfriends walk all over me in the name of “making them
happy”. I lost myself when I sold out my
body, my savior and my values. I did not
understand that as a woman, I am called to hold my future husband to a standard
given by our God. It was my job to hold
men accountable and I had settled for less.
You young men in here, you are called to hold a high
standard. To honor and protect the dignity of women and the Church. To protect and cherish your future wives as
you would your own body. You are called
to love them the same way that Christ loves every bit of you. To sacrifice yourself, your wants and your
desires to lead your household, your wives closer to Heaven. To strengthen their relationship with Jesus
Christ.
You ladies in here, you certainly are not off the hook
either. You are called to hold men to
that standard. You are the guardians of
this sacrament; you are called to cloak yourself in Christ so much that a man
should have to pursue Him to find you. To not settle for less than a man that
you would have no problem following to the Lord.
None of us are perfect.
Most of us, myself included, have some pretty substandard examples of
marriage in our lives with very little else to go on. Whether it is on TV with a ridiculous reality
show, celebrities in the news, when politicians openly debate the definition of
marriage or even in our own homes from our parents.
The love of Christ overcomes all of that. Marriage is the most visible example of what
God’s love means for us. It gives us the
graces of His love on Earth. That is why
we must honor it, protect it and ensure that we are ready to uphold its high
standards with our Lord.
Pray for the Grace to be the spouse you are called to
be. Talk to Jesus and pray for your
spouse, whether they are heavenly or on this Earth to be the same for you!
Your savior demands it of you.
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