Submission And Respect

Submission and Respect

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. . . . Husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.

Ephesians 5:21-22, 25

MANY WIVES SHUDDER when they hear the pastor say, “Turn in your Bible to Ephesians 5:22.” They know that’s the verse that says, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord” (NIV). But you don’t know my husband, they think. I sometimes imagine that God responds, But you don’t understand submission. Submission is not a command that applies only to females. In fact, Ephesians 5:21 instructs us to “submit to one another” because of our love for Christ.

Both the instruction to husbands about loving and the instruction to wives about submitting call for an attitude of service. Submission does not mean that the wife must do all the giving. The husband is to give his life for her. Nor does it mean that she cannot express her ideas. The goal of Paul’s instructions is unity, which requires both to have an attitude of service.

Father, I see that you have given my spouse and me equally challenging tasks. We need your help to fulfill them. Please help us to love and serve each other as you would have us do.

Submission