Source: Image via WW / WW
MISSION
Scripture: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” -Ephesians 5:21 NIV
Devotional: David and David Jr. love to watch football. They know what it’s like to see the coach giving a play to his quarterback, but when the quarterback starts the play, he calls an audible and does his own thing. In my opinion marriage will never work if spouses are always calling audibles. The beauty of marriage is accountability and partnership. Cooperation is the highest form of marital partnership. When we cooperate, we are willing to submit to our spouse and our spouse is willing to submit to us. Quite simply, cooperation cannot happen without submission.
Eek! There goes that word—submission. Where I grew up, the preacher would talk about submission, and to me it always sounded like women were only supposed to do what their husbands told them to do. That didn’t sound like marriage to me; it sounded like slavery. But when I began to read the Scriptures for myself, and most importantly, when I fell in love with David Mann, submission became an easier concept to understand. See, Ephesians 5:22 says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” But one verse above that says, “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (v. 21, emphasis added). I now understand that marriage isn’t only about wives submitting to husbands. Marriage is about both husband and wife submitting to each other. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. When we submit to each other, we help the world see the love Christ has for his church.
If submission means to get under a mission, then what is the mission that you and your spouse can submit to, or get under, in order to bring your family into a fruitful life? Your mission doesn’t have to be a long statement, but every family should have a goal by which they live. Every family should have a standard that they aim to reach toward. No one will get it perfect all the time, but the goal is a marker that helps you to stay focused on one another.
WILL YOU PRAY WITH US?
Creator of all things, in the beginning you made the heavens and the earth. You spoke the world into existence, and everything you created had a purpose. As you continue to show us the purpose of our marriage, help us to collaborate and cooperate with each other. Remove any competition between us. Restore our joy and reconnect us to the things that give our marriage meaning. In Jesus’ name, amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you have a mission for your marriage? If so, write it below. If not, create one below.
2. What are your thoughts about healthy competition in your marriage? Do you enjoy competing with each other to show love or to give affection? Why or why not?
3. On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your ability to work together with your spouse?
