The Father's Role In Family Values
"For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God?" - Galatians 1:10
The media had a field day in 1999, reporting on a new resolution about the family passed by the Southern Baptists at their convention. The statement that stirred up a hornet's nest was, "A wife is to submit graciously to the servant leadership of her husband."
Think for a moment about the statement in light of the husband and his call to servant leadership in the home. What does this mean? Servant leadership is not the autocratic, dictatorial leadership found in the world. True servant leadership means to lead like Jesus Christ. Men are to love their wives like Christ loves the church. Christ gave His life for the church. What woman would refuse this type of leadership?
Women who are willing to follow Christ are called to submit to their husbands, not because they deserve it (none of us do), but out of submission to Christ.
Men, are you willing to do that for your wife? For your children? Don't focus on what you believe your wife should be doing to submit to you; she will always resent that. Instead, first submit to the Lordship of Christ in your own life. Men, you should seek to submit to Christ. Women, you should seek to submit to Christ. You should both trust His Word to create marital harmony.
Do you have the courage to trust Christ and His Word when it comes to His plan for your marriage? In the 21st century, that calls for a radical counter-cultural faith. So who are you going to please? Christ or culture?
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1 Comments
Being a father is the highest priveledge a man can have. I have five children and five grandchildren. They and my wife are truly gifts from God. Being a family that "serves the Lord" is easy to say; hard to do. Everyone has to "submit" to the good of the family. As Erma Bombeck once said, "every parent has a favorite child; the one that needs her/him most right now". I see nothing selfish or controlling in God's instructions on marriage and the family. Certainly, they can be manipulated and abused like most other commands in the Bible, but when you put Jesus in the middle of the example, it is all so clear.
One last thing. My greatest joy on this Father's day is seeing what kind of father my sons have become. God bless all the fathers and "father figures" that take the time to be there for their family. - Pop