Being Real In Our MarriagesНамуна

Loving and submitting is for all  

In today's Christian world loving is associated with the husband and submitting to the wife. A husband's love for his wife cannot be measured. Whereas a wife is considered not submissive if she goes against what the husband desires/believes. 

An important phrase ‘…as Christ loved the church…’ is overlooked. How did Christ love the church? Christ’s love is not because of who I am or what I do. God loves us even when we willingly choose to reject and move away from Him. He does not force himself upon us. He gives us the space and free will to do what we want. When we repent, God’s love does not reject us. He is always there for us. This love is “inspite of"—it's an unconditional love. Every Christian is expected to have this kind of love for all human beings. How much more relevant is it in the context of a husband and wife?

‘…Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ…’is another overlooked passage. When every situation to submit to my spouse is an act of me submitting to what God wants me to do, it is doable. The issue  with submission comes when there is the issue of 'ego'. Submission involves letting go of our egos and rights. When we lay our egos and rights at the Lord’s feet we will be submitting automatically without considering it a big deal. I would like to rephrase this verse saying that “let not your egos and rights prevent you from doing what the Lord wants you to do”. Submission is not exclusive for women.

Though a husband is asked to love and a wife to submit, God protects wives who live lives pleasing God, with the command to husbands . 

“in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, 

and treat them with respect as the weaker partner 

and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, 

so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

God wants wives to please Him through their submission and husbands through  their loving. Loving is not possible without submission or submission without loving. 

My prayer for everyone reading this devotion, is that they would seek God's help to discover and be the person God wants them to be in their marriages.