AS IF, NOT BECAUSE
And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
Ephesians 5:21-24 (NLT)
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Colossians 3:17 (NLT)
Upon reading Ephesians 5:21, where it says we are to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, one might ask, How does that work in my situation? The Bible says that wives can do this by submitting to their husbands as they do to the Lord. But what if the husband is nothing like Jesus?
Submitting to others out of reverence for Christ means putting their needs before our own as if they were Jesus Himself, not because they are like Jesus. None of us is completely like Jesus; we all fall short of His standard, but because we want to show love and respect to Jesus, we can be moved to share His example of selfless love with others, especially our spouse, who might be the most challenging person to love that way.
I remember a woman who became like a second mom to me. She showed the love of Jesus to others by putting their needs before her own. I experienced firsthand how this person, who had very little money, opened her home to me and many others, providing meals and lodging to house guests while working full-time and raising a child as a single parent. Even as she was fighting the cancer that ultimately took her life, she put aside her preferences to meet the needs of others. Because she trusted Jesus to take care of her, she was able to express His love to others. She loved me as if she were loving Jesus Himself, not because I was anything like Him. The power of that submissive love is still felt by me more than 30 years after her passing.
APPLICATION: As a wife seeks to put the needs of her spouse before her own, she could ask herself and possibly her spouse in any given situation, How will our steps draw us closer to God or to each other?
PRAYER: Father, show us the value of putting others' needs before our own. Help us feel the value of showing love to others as if we're showing love to you. Amen.
"… Our Father in heaven…" Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
• What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
"… may your name be kept holy." Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
• What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
"May your Kingdom come soon." Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
• Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
"Give us today the food we need," Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
• Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I'm around today?
"and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us" Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
• Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
"And don’t let us yield to temptation…" Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
• Is there anywhere I'm vulnerable to temptation?