A Nugget from New Life Network
Scriptures for the Day (May 7,2018)
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:24).
We just came in from off the road. It’s good to be home, but it was also a very productive and anointed weekend. Once a year all of my wife’s family gathers together for a family reunion. They are all professional musicians so it is one big jam session with a mixture of country, pop, jazz and gospel music, not to mention a lot of eating and fellowship.
This year was a little bit different. Cheryl’s younger sister (Marsha) was getting married so she and her future husband asked us to officiate the wedding at this year’s reunion. Marsha’s first husband (Charlie) passed away three years ago. We have been praying for the right man for Marsha and John Rex is that man. Number one, he loves the Lord, and that was critical for Marsha. John is a pilot for American Airlines flying out of Dallas, TX so Cheryl and Marsha’s older brother nicknamed him J.R. (ha, ha). All joking aside, John Rex is a really good man and we welcome him into this crazy family.
When we marry a couple we try our best to explain several critical truths that will hopefully help them avoid some common pitfalls that plaque many marriages. The following is a brief summary of a couple of those truths.
First, when God created man (Adam) He created him in His (God’s) own image. This first man was both male and female. Did you ever think about that? It wasn’t until later that God took certain properties out of Adam and created Eve. The Bible describes marriage as a one-flesh relationship. A married couple that is in unity with God and each other is a powerful reflection of God’s true image. That is why Satan fights so hard to destroy marriages.
We instruct our grooms to realize that the woman is actually man’s other self and they should realize they are both made to complete each other, and not to compete with each other. Many couples spend their entire marriage competing with each other which is really sad.
Second, the word “submit” is not considered a very popular word by most wives. We instruct our brides and grooms to realize that submission is a two-way street (Ephesians 5:21). Most people skip Ephesians 5:21 and go straight to Ephesians 5:22 that tells wives to submit to their husbands. The Amplified Bible also adds the word “adapt” to this verse when instructing wives. I don’t think any of us have ever truly understood what it means to submit to each other. My personal opinion is this. Most men by nature are a little too quick to shirk their responsibility and let the woman take over just to keep the peace, even if it means he’s relinquishing his duty as a husband. Most women on the other hand are by nature comfortable with making a multitude of decisions, even if that responsibility should rightfully be done in consultation with the husband.
What I’m saying is that each person in a marriage has to go against their natural tendencies (or their flesh) sometimes to submit to the Spirit and arrive at this perfect one-flesh relationship referred to by God. This is a voluntary yielding versus an abdication of responsibility, such as was the case with Adam. Adam knew what the right thing to do was but he followed his flesh, abdicated his responsibility, and let Eve make the call because he loved her and did not want to rock the boat. Can anybody out there relate? That is one reason we have a lot of weak men out there today and it is also why we have a lot of strong women running households. We both have to be strong enough to require each other to get involved and not abdicate our responsibilities. We need each other’s gifts and talents to reach good God based decisions.
The bottom-line is this, God expects us to work together. He expects us to submit to one another. He has given us both unique gifts and talents that will assist and complete the other person if we are willing to submit to each other. When a husband and wife are in unity with God and each other there is no devil in Hell that can successfully come against them. They are a powerful force to be reckoned with and the devil knows that.
