Toy Stories: Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head — Real Roles vs. Interchangeable Parts - Monday
Today’s Verse
Ephesians 5:21b
…submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (NLT)
A couple of days ago, I ran into a moment when the only thing I could do was slow down and wait. Being silly, I cried out, “But this is America! What do you mean, wait?” I mean, it’s 2025. Shouldn’t everything be instant by now? Great coffee is ready and waiting for me at the local shop and food is a mere drive-thru away. My books, music, and movies are delivered instantly to a device. I think it’s about time for meds that knock out the sniffles in one dose or fix broken bones within an hour. A simple solution for everything that makes problems evaporate. And then, I come back to Earth as God’s Word drops something totally old-school, simple yet challenging, wise, and entirely timely, into my pathway.
That’s what we run into when we encounter God’s words, calling us to submit to one another. You mean, set aside my agenda and consider someone else’s thoughts, opinions, needs, preferences before my own? If waiting is passé, then submission is even more obsolete, right? This word, submit, has been controversial for couples I’ve met with as a pastor for as long as I can remember.
As we dig into Ephesians 5:21-31 this week, let me invite us to pay attention to the fact that the entire passage is set in the context of this one verse calling for mutual submission. “...submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” This instruction to submit is usually aimed in one of two directions in Scripture… one is set in a context of winning in the arena of spiritual warfare, as James 4 directs us to submit to God, resist the devil, and then the enemy has to pack up and head out. Second, we find wisdom for winning in the arena of relationships through submission. In Ephesians 5:21 above, husbands and wives are reminded to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. As I consider these two angles of submission, I can see how they actually happen both at once. If the enemy’s plan is to steal, kill, and destroy. To derail, distract, and discourage… then what better place than in marriage? Thereby in the family, and from there even further––into every existing relationship as a result? We need to grow in submission to win in every corner of life, and especially marriage.
The rest of the text in the verses that follow falls into perspective as we recall that both husbands and wives receive this directive together. Submit to one another. Honor one another. Why? In order to lift each other up. So consider the needs, desires, and even preferences of each other, set guard around your relationship with an attitude of generous selflessness, so that you don’t wind up stuck in the destructive mire of sinful selfishness. There is truly freedom in the sacrifice of “self” in order to lift up the other in the context of mutual submission and devoted marriage.
APPLICATION
Reflect on the reminder in Scott’s message this past weekend: “Paul says that submission should be normal among followers of Jesus. Men, women, everyone should be voluntarily yielding to one another for a very specific purpose. Submission is a demonstration of who Jesus is and what He has done.” In what ways have you found this to be true or helpful in your marriage or a marriage you’ve seen thrive?
PRAYER
God, thank You for Your word. Help me to submit to it joyfully and obediently out of reverence for Jesus.
