Growing up, I secretly feared that I would never be able to marry. The reason? I couldn't find any guys that I would honestly be able to submit to. I knew deep down that if I disagreed or thought that they were making a stupid decision, I wouldn't be able to smile and surrender. If that was what God wanted women to do, then I may as well not even put myself in that position. But what if I was wrong about His design?
Read the whole series :)
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| Do I have a rebellious, Jezebel spirit? |
"What about the fact that woman was made as a "helper"? We tend to think
of a helper as a subordinate. Surely that means that woman is meant to
be under the authority of man, right? Except that the Bible frequently
uses the same word to describe God. He is our help, our strength, our
power. Nowhere is it ever implied that God is under our authority!"
"Despite the results of the the Fall, we are Christians, redeemed from
the Curse. With all of the other horrible distortions in our world
created by sin--such as sickness of both soul and body--we feel
justified in fighting against the darkness. Christians are taught to
pray for healing, and to seek health and restoration. Why then would we
believe that we should fight to uphold and strengthen sickness in
marriage relationships? Why should we want to further the results of
the curse in our lives?"
"I know a lot of people want to establish hierarchy in marriage. They
want to insist that men be over women. I suspect that they, too, are
grasping at a worldly model. There is nothing in the Gospels to
indicate that Jesus wanted marriage to be a hierarchy. His goal was
oneness. Joining together."
"I fully believe that wives are to submit to their husbands, in the sense
of unselfishly supporting and caring for them. I also fully believe
that husbands are to submit to their wives and unselfishly support and
care for them. That is who we are supposed to be as believers. Look at
Phillipians 2. How much more should that apply to the intimacy of a
husband and wife!"
"Churches talk a lot about being "unequally yoked" in marriage
relationships. But what they fail to realize is that expecting the
husband to always be the one to initiate everything spiritual is
actually putting an unequal yoke on the couple."
"What if there is a major life decision that needs to be made and you disagree? Inaction until unity.
We both belong to God. We both love Him and each other. He led the
people of Israel with a fire and a cloud. He will lead us, too. So we
wait, we pray, we listen and consider. If necessary, we talk more.
Until there is clear direction from God, we stay where we are and hold
off on a decision."
Thank you for clearly stating what God means for marriage, and what can be achieved through a Christian marriage with God at the center. Stay strong.
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