Mutual Submission: Jesus' Way Shaping Family Life
Daily Scripture
Ephesians 5:18-31
18 Don’t get drunk on wine, which produces depravity. Instead, be filled with the Spirit in the following ways: 19 speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; sing and make music to the Lord in your hearts; 20 always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 and submit to each other out of respect for Christ. 22 For example, wives should submit to their husbands as if to the Lord. 23 A husband is the head of his wife like Christ is head of the church, that is, the savior of the body. 24 So wives submit to their husbands in everything like the church submits to Christ. 25 As for husbands, love your wives just like Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. 26 He did this to make her holy by washing her in a bath of water with the word. 27 He did this to present himself with a splendid church, one without any sort of stain or wrinkle on her clothes, but rather one that is holy and blameless. 28 That’s how husbands ought to love their wives—in the same way as they do their own bodies. Anyone who loves his wife loves himself. 29 No one ever hates his own body, but feeds it and takes care of it just like Christ does for the church 30 because we are parts of his body. 31 This is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two of them will be one body [Genesis 2:24].
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Too often, families need forgiveness because men (and sometimes women) have isolated verse 22 without reading the whole passage. It used a common Greco/Roman way of discussing family relations called a “Household Code.” But Christian adaptations strikingly shifted its message. Scholar N. T. Wright wrote, “Paul… insists that the husband should take as his role model, not the typical bossy or bullying male of the modern, or indeed the ancient, stereotype, but Jesus himself.” *
- Ephesians 5:21 said, “Submit to each other out of respect for Christ.” “Paul here goes beyond traditional expectations in calling for mutual submission (cf. general Christian servanthood to one another in Mark 10:42–45; John 13:14–15; Galatians 5:13). This places Paul among the small proportion of ancient thinkers who valued mutual concern and sensitivity…. although specifying the wife’s submission in v. 22, he grounds it grammatically in the mutual submission of v. 21.” ** Paul used a familiar form in his culture to convey Jesus’ values. How can you do the same in our culture?
- Pastor Hamilton wrote, “There are certain practices that seem to help me become more loving. I feel closest to God when I’ve been praying, worshiping, and studying Scripture, and when I am doing these things I’m also a far better husband.” *** What helps you move practices like those from “I don’t have time for this religious stuff” to “these choices allow God to make me more loving, especially toward those I care about most”?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you walked among us as genuine love incarnate. Let your love be a robust force, making every life I touch better, not just the sentimentalism my culture often confuses with love. Amen.
GPS Insights
Janelle Gregory
Janelle Gregory, who serves as Resurrection's Human Resources Lead Director, wrote today's Insights. Janelle finds that her heart is constantly wrestling with the truth that she needs a Savior, and the times when she's at her very best are when she's just too tired to put up a fight.
Have you ever watched a singing competition show like The Voice, American Idol and the like? I’m not an avid fan, but I watch them enough to know that they often have two contestants sing together. Yet these contestants aren’t competing as a duo, they are competing individually.
I find it fascinating to see how each contestant approaches the challenge. There are times when one contestant far outshines the other. They sing more runs, they project louder, they take over the stage, and they essentially steamroll their opponent. Listen, there’s a recording contract and up to $250K on the line. I can’t blame them for wanting to stand out. Yet, it’s not really a duet at that point.
But that isn’t the only approach.
Other times, you’ll see contestants who approach the duet with the goal of giving the best performance. They share the stage, they take turns showing their skills, and they harmonize beautifully. For a moment, you forget that they are competing against one another. You’re just listening to an incredible performance.
In some ways, marriage is like a duet. It’s two people coming together for a common goal. In marriages (and in all our relationships, really) it’s tempting to make ourselves the star. We want to be heard. We want to win. We want to be right. But if we approach marriage like an individual competition, someone’s always losing. We lose, they lose, and ultimately, our marriage loses.
As Christians, we’re invited to work together in our marriages. When we both listen to each other, follow the same rhythm, and lift each other up, we begin to make sweet harmonies. And harmony is powerful. It reflects something bigger than just the two people involved. When a marriage works the way it’s meant to, with love, respect, forgiveness, and unity, it becomes a living picture of the gospel, a song of grace and redemption.
So, in our relationships, let’s keep learning the rhythm. Let’s keep practicing the harmonies. And let’s never forget who composed the song in the first place.
© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* N. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, pp. 67-68.
** NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook. (p. 10344). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
*** Adam Hamilton, Love to Stay: Six Keys to a Successful Marriage (pp. 22-23). Abingdon Press, Kindle edition.
