Being Loved and Loving
(Eph 5:21ampsim33)
Its important that wives submit to their husbands and husbands love their wives. Yet the word submit is hard for us to follow without accepting it in the context of Redemption History. Its because we are bound in our family ties for the sake of salvation. The key verse today is 'Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.'(5:21) Actually, both loving and revering come from the action of submitting. How then can we do this?
1. Be a prisoner of Christ. God urges us to be a prisoner of Christ and live a life worthy of His calling by submitting to Him as wives submit to their husbands. Submission reminds us of endurance. We often bite the bullet instead of submitting to others because we tthink their fault bigger than ours. We need to submit to our spouses role, not his or her personality. Wives need to submit to their husbands alcoholism, inability, and unemployment. This is impossible for us without seeing our sins. What does it mean to be a prisoner of Christ? People advise us to have a fake divorce to avoid heavy debts and be united later. However, if we keep our marriage as a prisoner of God, we will surely be blessed by God from generation to generation. Therere innumerable cases of becoming a prisoner of Christ in order to keep our marriage. As for me, I was literally caught in the prison of my husband, who couldnt get me and vice versa. Then, as a physical and spiritual prisoner, I became ready to instruct others. What about you? Are you ready to share the gospel thanks to your imprisonment situation, wherever youre caught now?
2. Be a beloved wife. First, wives need to beautiful. Women are beautiful by being feminine. Its not about physical appearance, but about spiritual readiness to take on a variety of characters for the sake of others salvation. Second, wives need to be wise. Clever women properly tune themselves to their husbands. However, without considering salvation, their skillful love is meaningless. Wisdom means carrying a cross with the best timing. Third, wives need to be independent. Truly attractive women are capable of living well by themselves. Some women feel lonely even when they are with their husbands while others dont even without their husbands. Perfect independence is possible only in Christ. Fourth, wives need to be lovable. The most lovable women are those who submit to their husbands. They dont respect their husbands because they are respectable. They make their husbands respectable and respect them. What about you? What are your strong points and weak points for being a lovable wife?
3. Be a loving husband. Loving is harder than submitting. Husbands need to have Christ in them in order to love their wives just as Jesus Christ loved us even to death. For this purpose, they need to be led to the Christ community and be trained first of all. This is how we save our time and give our best helping hands. In order to be a loving husband, they need to be competitive first. Women respect men who do their best in their work, being proud of their occupation. Also, they need to be spiritually competitive, ready to share their story through QT in their mokjang community. Second, husbands need to be comprehensive-minded. Men are actually the victims of severe competition. Therefore, without exception, they suffer from a sense of inferiority. Without Gods help, no one can diagnose his narrow and crooked mind properly. Husbands have the responsibility to cherish and love their wives under the guidance of the Word. When they truly love their wives, they can also love their children. Do you have enough competitiveness to be a loving husband? Do you have a comprehensive mind?
4. Hold on to the great mystery of being loved and loving. A married couple is to leave their parents after being truly united as one body. They need to have their mysterious relationship as a married couple, which enables them to leave their parents. So it is our relationships with God. If we enjoy our mysterious relationships and inexpressible pleasure with God, we can leave the world. Do you have any secret pleasure with God? What about your physical one with your spouse? Heres a testimony from one of our deacons, who had many affairs with women. He said that men are ready to cheat on their wives, if they are allowed. Then he summed up, 'The best way to stop this is sticking to our faith community knowing that the days are evil.' This was his story. After coming to Wooridle Church, he cut off his affairs. May God bless us to be attentive to this message and enjoy our family life in Christ through our language of submission and love!
'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' (Eph 5:31)
