“Not my will but Yours be done.” Lk. 22:42
God is readying a bride for Himself. In this “readying” process, each of
us is uniquely called to distinctive “mission”, a smaller personal story lived
out amidst His much larger more comprehensive story (Eph. 2:10).
At times, we are the primary “mission performer”, and at other times, we
hold the “sub-mission” position in an overall operation.
Let’s look at the example of the husband/wife team, a unit
designed by God to reflect a more complete image of Himself.
(Remember, Adam was created in God’s image, yet, when Eve was formed
from his side, producing a more complete picture of the Godhead. Gen.1:26-27; 2:18, 20-24 …Then, when
Adam didn’t fulfill his mandate to subdue the earth, and kill the seducing serpent,
Eve fell prey to the snake’s deception, which caused them both to sin, fall
from grace, and now, we all get to
bear the penalty of their mishap. Part of the
curse’s penalty is described in Gen. 3:16. Wives now have an unnatural
desire to control their husbands, yet they are called to submit to them. ~The
husband has an unnatural desire to dominate his wife, yet is called to love her
as Christ loved the church and died for her….but this is for another day.)
Eph. 5:21 tells us that both
husband and wife are called to submit to
one another out of reverence for Christ. A great illustration of this submission arrangement is pictured in the
Trinity itself: 1st Person is the Father, 2nd Person is
Jesus, and 3rd Person is the Holy Spirit. All equal, yet each possessing
very distinctive roles.
E.g.: Jesus shows this design in Lk. 22:42
and Jn. 16:14-15.
Likened to the Trinity configuration, God has called the wife to submit
to her husband in the marriage configuration. The husband’s mission is to lead
with love, wisdom and understanding, and the wife’s highly valued “sub-mission”
is “helper”, the same term used for the Holy Spirit! (Gen. 2:18; Jn. 14:26)
In our modern days, the idea of submitting to authority of any kind is
repulsive to an ever-increasing number of folks. Hence, anarchy is now
happening inside the home to governments worldwide. ~Let’s remember, God is a God of purpose and order. Submission
doesn’t necessarily have to do with smarts, talent or the like. “Submit”:
“hypotassÅ” is a military term
concerning the arrangement of authority and submission to authority. Although a sergeant may be more
intelligent/talented than his commanding general, this sergeant is called to comply
with his commanding officer’s directives. This sergeant has a God-ordained
“sub-mission” role.
Refusing to submit to authority sins against
God’s very nature.
When we choose to embrace mission and sub-mission, life just
works better. Amen.
Big hugs this Thanksgiving week, xo ~Shaun and Betsy
