Scripture Sunday
I hope each of you is having a blessed Lord's day. For me, Sundays are for scripture.
The photo to the right was taken on August 13, 1983. That man in the photo is still the love of my life. Our romance is not perfect. We both make mistakes and we both regret those mistakes. But, as believers, we're given a model for marriage in scripture that has seen us through the best and the worst times. It is the same model that the relationships in Beyond Belief are based upon---God's model.
The scripture I'm sharing here today has caused more contemporary women to froth at the mouth than just about any other scripture in the Holy Writ---especially when it is taken out of context. That's why I'm departing from my beloved NASB translation and instead am sharing these verses in contemporary English from Eugene Peterson's wonderful paraphrase The Message.
Ephesians 5: On Relationships:
Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.
Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering, but by cherishing...
Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church---a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought
to love their wives...
What is clearest to me (Paul) is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.
Human marriage is but a flawed type---seen through a mirror darkly---of Christ's relationship with His church. But it's precious to God and it gives us something to strive for, a call to cherish and honor the one with whom we walk life's path. It is my hope that the relationships between believers in Beyond Belief are true to this calling.
Wishing you blessings,
Joy