…To Grow Up?
S:
Ephesians 4:1-7
1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
(NASB)
O:
In the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul has laid out the argumentation for our being in Christ. How God determined a plan for keeping his creation related to him in good standing; how Christ was the focal point of that redemption plan, and how we as human beings are now able to have a relationship with him. Now he starts the practical application of that plan outlining how we should behave because of that redemption.
A: In God’s eyes, it is too easy to develop an air of superiority as Christians, and that is not to be allowed. Inside the marriage union, it is too easy to develop that same air of superiority where we think and see only that which we have done, and we don’t see what our spouse has done. I wish I could sit down with every new husband a year into their marriage and just start repeating over and over and over, that in God’s economy, a marriage is a servanthood relationship, not one where you are simply to be served. Paul highlights humility and gentleness…neither of these responses are the typical response of the average human being…they take work and effort to consistently model this kind of attitude and action towards your spouse. How often in our early married years, did patience go out the window when our expectations were not met? We throw up a wall of anger and frustration because we were not clear in communicating our expectations, and when our spouse did not pick up on our hints, we get all out of sorts, because “she doesn’t care about me or my needs”. We forget that she is her own person, and it is difficult for her to walk in your shoes. We need to not only be thankful for the myriad of books that have been written about the differences between men and women, but we also need to read them and appropriate them into our daily living, understanding that she doesn’t have the same needs as me.
“Showing tolerance for one another”…just this morning, I dropped my wife off at her work, knowing full well as she walked in that she was going to be facing a tough and draining day, so my final comment to her was that I would try and not expect anything when she gets home this afternoon. Making that comment to her would not have entered my head in our early years of marriage, and yet this is what Christ expects of us as husband and wife, as a witness to our children and to those who might be watching our marriage relationship.
P:
Lord, please help me to constantly and consistently think of my wife and her needs before I expect mine to be met. Amen.