Sunday 18 Mar 2012

Sunday Reading: Ephesians 5:22-33

Key Verse: Ephesians 5:25
25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Devotion:
If you were to ask people what they thought the problems was in most marriages today a common answer may well be that either partner did not respect the other or that they simply did not love the partner anymore. But few people may be willing to dig a bit deeper and try to analyse why those statements were said or to try and figure out what did or did not happen in the first place. Whilst most people would be willing to bring in someone who would be able to sort the problems out, few would give someone else control in their lives and be willing to follow that third party’s advice on a way forward. Is it any wonder then that marriages do break down, that relationships do get consumed and that people end up being unhappy?

When we read verses like these it is very easy to catch hold of phrases like “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands” and “For the husband is the head of the wife” and to get carried away about men being in charge of what happens no matter what. Well, God has given us what should and should not happen, but we just don’t want to listen! Instead what we tend to do is to pick up on some of the phrases and bend things to our own advantage. Well, have a careful read of what is being said...

God is saying that we need to get things in the right order. Christ showed us that He is the head of the church and that He is the Saviour of that church. In other words He is the one who has to look out for that church, not just to say He is in charge but to actually be the one who does what is right. Therein lays a problem for many men in our society because they have never learned what is involved in a good marriage.

Christ showed that He was not just willing to be the one who took a step forward saying that He was in charge but He also did exactly that. He did not do it through being a bully like many of the kings of Israel but rather gave Himself up to be a servant for all the church. He was willing to be in charge by example and not just to demand His share of what should be given. I know I am a fine one to talk, but with a bit of hind sight and looking in from the outside the world looks quite different. Jesus knew that He was the head of the church and He knew that that demanded that all should respect Him for that; but He still showed love and respect to everyone else by supplying us with all that we need with security, love, respect and everything in between. So if you want to be the head, you need the right attitude to start with...

Points to Ponder:
Do you look for quick results?

Or do you look to God for guidance?