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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Thursday, June 15, 2017
Today's Passage : Today's Passage: Subject: Wives Bible Verse:1 Peter 3:1-2, 5-6 (ESV) "Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening." Message:
If Peter’s entreaty to servants in yesterday’s lesson is unpopular, today’s passage is often downright reviled. In secular Western society, the liberation of women is considered a primary tenet of morality. Any hint that a woman should “be subject to her husband” is met with fierce opposition, anger, and even hatred.
Moreover, marriage is difficult, and one of the greatest difficulties is power and control. The last thing a woman actively engaged in an interpersonal power struggle wants to hear is “give in”. She, as much as her husband, has ideas about how things should be done; often her ideas are better.
And yet, there is Peter’s teaching, in black and white; what do we make of it?
The first thing we must remember, always, is that this passage is addressed to women. It is not intended to give husbands rights, and it is not intended to be a law that husbands or society can impose. The matter is entirely between a woman and God.
If one has read the preceding chapters of 1 Peter, one understands a Christian perspective in which Peter makes this difficult-sounding admonishment. We are all, male and female, rich and poor, masters and servants alike, a “holy priesthood” of Christ. A primary rule of our lives is that we should live like Christ: we must “abstain from the passions of the flesh” — in this instance, pride — which wage war against our souls.
As such, once we decide that the great goals of our lives are our personal salvation and the salvation of others — surely, the greatest love we can show to another is to lead them to Christ — worldly passions become, at best, secondary; and at worst, a barrier to our goal. If we offer our very lives to a painful crucifixion, as Peter did, other matters become mundane, petty, trivial. We strive to concede unimportant issues, lest they block the single great issue of bringing the world to Christ.
Finally, I must point out that there are many dedicated, devout, and knowledgeable Christians who state that this passage must be read in the context of history and is not applicable to modern Christians. But the Bible at no point tells us to reinterpret according to modern societal standards. In fact, it appears to urge the opposite: “[D]o not be conformed to this age (or this world), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
The problem with “reinterpreting” the Bible to conform to modern secular notions is that, once one discounts clear Biblical statements as historically determined rather than divinely inspired, the authority of the Bible itself is undermined. It becomes imperfect and temporary, a document for ancient persons. Once we discount the primary meaning of such an explicit passage, we begin to write our own Bible rather than follow God’s. Shall we reserve for ourselves the right to believe only the parts of the Bible we agree with? Or shall we conform ourselves to it?
Nevertheless, I repeat: This passage is addressed to married women, and if there exists any controversy, it lies between a married woman and God. I would urge that all people who confess Christ as their savior not to allow issues such as gender roles to interfere with their love for and unity with their brothers and sisters.
Meditation : Prayer : Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip me with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in me what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen |
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