As a woman trying her best to live a life pleasing to God, I choose to be a submissive wife. Oh, I can hear the groans and gasps. Yes, you read it right, I CHOOSE to be a submissive wife.
When we choose to follow God's plan for our lives, our lives are enriched and blessed. Wifely submission is part of God's plan for a marriage. When we, as women, choose to submit to our husbands' authority; our marriages can become something more than just partnerships. Our marriages will become a complete union of two into one.
Ephesians 5:22 always bothered me. I had enough feminist ideals in me that submit seemed like an ugly concept. I loved my husband whole-heartedly, but he was NOT going to be my boss or father. I was capable of making my own decisions and knew my own mind. I had one daddy and didn't need another. Our marriage wasn't going to be a subservient one. It was going to be an equal partnership.
There were so many times that the whole submission thing was brought up; whether in Sunday school or around the dinner table at a family gathering. It would get my dander up and upset me. I wasn't going to submit. No way! No how! I read Ephesians 5:22 so many times, but I failed to really read it and the verses that followed.
"Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." Ephesians 5:22-24.
Wifely submission came to my attention as we began our homeschooling journey. It was presented to me in a different light than I had every heard it before. My curiosity was peaked. I began to research and study. For the first time, I really read verse 22 and the verses to follow. "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." Ephesians 5:22-24. As a woman trying to live a godly life, I am already called to submit to the Lord God's authority, so would submitting to my husband really be any harder.
I read on in the chapter and was amazed by what God was asking husbands to do. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church for we are members of his body." Ephesians 25-30. God wants husbands to love their wives like Jesus loved His church. Jesus loved His church so much that he laid down His life for those that believed in Him so that their sins would be washed away. Wow! If my husband could learn to love me like that, then how could I not live up to God's call for me to submit.
It took me a while to adjust to submitting. I took gradual, small steps. I looked for opportunities to show submission. I had to bite my tongue and put aside self to do so, but I did. As I began to change, DH started changing too; realizing he had his own part to do. Our relationship took on a whole new feeling. We grew closer, got in to arguments less, and our time together became more enjoyable.
I believe choosing and becoming a submissive wife is one of those heart issues that requires a person to make a choice, because it has to come from a position of love. It requires putting your self aside and thinking of your husband first. It is a hard thing to do, especially given the feminist ideals that are prevalent today. It won't make your marriage perfect, because we still have our dust ups and our problems. However, they are settled with little conflict and angry subsides quicker. Choosing and becoming a submissive wife isn't an easy path to go down, but I am so glad I did.
Simply loving a marriage of love, duty, protection, submission, and enjoying every minute of it!
It took me a while to adjust to submitting. I took gradual, small steps. I looked for opportunities to show submission. I had to bite my tongue and put aside self to do so, but I did. As I began to change, DH started changing too; realizing he had his own part to do. Our relationship took on a whole new feeling. We grew closer, got in to arguments less, and our time together became more enjoyable.
I believe choosing and becoming a submissive wife is one of those heart issues that requires a person to make a choice, because it has to come from a position of love. It requires putting your self aside and thinking of your husband first. It is a hard thing to do, especially given the feminist ideals that are prevalent today. It won't make your marriage perfect, because we still have our dust ups and our problems. However, they are settled with little conflict and angry subsides quicker. Choosing and becoming a submissive wife isn't an easy path to go down, but I am so glad I did.
Simply loving a marriage of love, duty, protection, submission, and enjoying every minute of it!
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