Leadership and Submission: Lead with Love
Monday, December 7, 2020
Living Free Every Day®
A ministry of LivingFree.org
Today's Scripture
"For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her." Ephesians 5:25 NLT (Also read Ephesians 5:22-23, 1 Peter 3:7, Colossians 3:19)
Thoughts for Today
In God's design for the family, each family member has a role to fulfill. The analogy of Christ and the church helps us understand God's plan for the husband in the marriage and family relationship. Christ's role as head of the church is the guideline for the husband's role and responsibility to his wife. The husband's primary responsibility to his wife is love, not dictatorship.
Through the years teaching about the husband's role has sometimes been distorted, giving him the right to rule with no apparent responsibility. Jesus loved the church (all of us) enough to die for us. The husband's love for his wife should be giving and sacrificial. His role of love and leadership provides the framework for family relationships—it is so important that he follow Christ's example of love and giving in fulfilling this awesome responsibility.
Consider this …
This week we will be looking at some of the things the Bible has to say about family roles. Understanding these scriptures can help us be better marriage partners—and parents. It can also help us stay on an even keel when popularized teaching on Christian marriage gets out of balance.
Prayer
Father, help me to understand my role in marriage and to be a better marriage partner. (men) Help me to love my wife in a totally unselfish way and to be wise in my family leadership role. In Jesus' name …
These thoughts were drawn from … Committed Couples: God's Plan for Marriage & the Family by Dr. Jimmy Ray Lee. Whether in a private or group setting, couples will be encouraged spiritually and romantically as they research biblical principles that affirm their vows. This book can help every married couple grow spiritually and emotionally in their relationship. It is also a great help for engaged-to-be-married couples.
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