Grace and peace to you from God our Father. I hope the Bible reading has been going well for you. It's okay if you miss a reading here or there. And don't worry about playing catch up, resume from the day you start. The point isn't to be legalistic, but to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Today's reading is through the book of Colossians, which was written by the apostle Paul. Colosse was a city in Asia Minor (Western modern Turkey), which Paul visited on his third missionary journey. Colossians is a letter in the group of Paul's prison epistles. Written from prison in Rome, Paul also wrote Ephesians, Philippians and Philemon while there.
Unfortunately, I have to keep today's blog short. I do however want to focus on three specific areas within Colossians.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Human blood had to be shed, but only a perfect sacrifice from a perfect being would suffice. God had to be the sacrifice. God had to die. Still sounds crazy...I know, but that's how much God love you and me. We always remember that God's Son died on the cross, but do we remember that Jesus was God in the flesh...ergo...God died on the cross. WOW!!! Father God was still in heaven, but the Son God died on the cross. That's why it is important for us to understand the concept of the Trinity. God is one, three in one. Now that this has happened, we are now 100% reconciled to God and brought back to Him by the blood of Christ.
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
How often have you wanted to know God's will for your life? God where should I go to college? Who should I marry? What job should I take? We all are confronted with heavy life choices that can be scary and overwhelming. Sometimes it seems that God gives us very generic answers to our specific questions. It's hard to find answers to these questions simply by reading Scripture. But by reading Scripture we get closer to God, and its by being close to Him that we start to understand instinctively what His will is.
We first must do a couple things. We must remember that we have to keep our focus where it needs to be. Set your hearts on things above. And we have to remember and keep in perspective who's we are. The first three little words of verse three are so important. For you died. Don't forget that you have died and Christ is the one who now lives in you. Sometimes God doesn't have huge plans for you, He just has plans. His plan involves us being obedient to Him and being trustworthy with a few small things. Then He will entrust us with some BIG things. If we seek after Him and trust in Him and are obedient to Him...then, as time goes on, we will come to understand what His will is in some of the more specific areas of our life.
18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
These two verse get us every time don't they? We hate these verses. Why? Because they smack us in the face of our own sinfulness. Many people read these verses and automatically think that the Bible puts down women and that the Bible teaches that women are second class citizens. That's just not true. God created woman because man was incomplete without her. Women also represent aspects about God that men do not posses.
Why does it say submit then? Does it mean wives have to submit? Yes. We get all flustered about these verses because the full meaning behind them has not been taught to us, and often it has been forgotten. The fall of mankind is not blamed on Eve, it is blamed on Adam. It's unfair to say that wives should submit and not explain everything. You see, Adam was passive in the garden. His job was to cherish and protect his wife and he didn't. So, Eve did what all women today do in this situation. She was forced to take the lead and make the decision herself.
How often, husbands, has your wife asked you to make a decision and you've beat around the bush about it? She wants a clear answer, but don't feel too bad because you're not alone. All husbands struggle with passiveness. What that did for Eve and does for the wives of today is that wives feel like husbands don't love and cherish them when they are passive. Which leads to mistrust. That's why the command to husbands is to love their wives. But because of the mistrust, whether it be large or small, she then feels like you will not take action so she must.
The command for wives to submit does not imply that women are second class. It does not imply that wives are to be under their husbands thumb. That's why the command tells husbands to not be harsh with them. The command to submit is meant to weed out these temptations due to the fall and help us to respond accordingly to each other. Wives...submit means to trust your husband and allow him to do what he needs to do to provide for you and to protect you. It's hard wired into his system, though it's tempting to be passive.
Husbands...don't be passive. Have you ever wondered why women love "chick flicks"? All women want to be loved and cherished. One of the ways you can show her your love is by not being passive and make the decision. Provide for her. Protect her. Listen to her. And she will trust and respect you.
Well...it was supposed to be short. I hope this has been helpful for all. Let me know if you have any questions. Until next time...
Grace be with you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment