Betrothed to Christ

“²For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 11:2 (ESV)

I am the husband of one wife, Lori. She is mine and I am hers. Together we are walking this world as one. But, I/we are betrothed to another, CHRIST! Paul, in the above verse indicates that we, as the church are to be wed with Christ. He is our husband to be. What does that mean to me/us?

If the betrothal process, the father gives the daughter over to the would be husband and does so with some guarantees. There is the guarantee of devotion to the husband. There is guarantee of dowry to the husband. There is guarantee of purity to the husband. All of these are expected as part of the marriage process.

Now think of Paul’s betrothal of us as the wife of Christ. Paul has given over the church as devoted to Christ. He has promised over the gifts of the church to Christ and His work. And there is the expected purity of the church to the Christ and Christ alone. Just as the actual wife to husband, these are all expectations and come with a great deal of responsibility.

Devotion is to the one and one only. Giving of all of ourselves to Christ and putting aside all other allegiances for the name of Christ. Gifts are given in the name of Christ to ensure that His work can continue in this world. As much as we may dislike the idea, there are needs for the monetary in the carrying out of spreading the gospel. Purity is expected in that we give ourselves to Christ and are washed clean thanks to His offer of salvation. He gets all of us in our new selves to shape into that which is/will be for Him and Him alone.

There you have it, our betrothal to Christ. We are to be devoted to Him, provide gifts to Him for the work needed in this world, and we are to be pure, washed clean for Him.

As you read further in the passage of 2 Corinthians 11:1-15, we see some of the obstacles that will befall us in this world as we are given to Christ. Where these are there, and we need to read and study them to stay away from them, this morning is about our betrothal to Christ and what we give in the process. I have been chosen to the bride of Christ and I take it seriously. I have to remember that I am to be devoted to Him, I give my gifts to Him, and I have been made pure and should work to remain that way for Him. I have been betrothed to Christ and I am to love Him and Him alone.

What is your view of your relationship to Christ? Are you only on the receiving end? What if you see it as being betrothed and with that comes devotion, gifts, and purity to Him and Him alone?

Wife’s Submission and Respect

This morning I continue my study of the word “wife”. I am led to Ephesians to the passage titled “Wives and Husbands”. As you look to the title of my writing, it appears that this is directed at the wife, yet the husband plays a vital role.

“²²Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. ²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.” – Ephesians 5:22-24 (ESV)

“³³However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” – Ephesians 5:33 (ESV)

Here we see Paul speaking to the role of the wife in the relationship. She is to submit to the husband as the church submits to Christ. The wife is to rely on the husband for love and care. She is to recognize and respect his authority in the house and relationship. The wife is to give herself to the husband fully in their marriage as we give ourselves to Christ.

But here is the thing, look to verse 23 above. Christ is the head of the church, yes, but also see that Christ sacrificed Himself for the Church. It is not just about the submission of the church to Christ, it is about Christ’s full devotion to the church to the point of sacrificial death. Husbands, we are to do the same. We are to sacrifice for our wives. She is relying on us for care and love and devotion as she is submitting to to us.

The relationship between a husband and wife is of oneness. Reliance on one another. The wife cares for the everyday needs of the home and the husband cares for the everyday needs of the wife. The wife recognizes and respects the authority of the husband and submits fully to that authority and the husband loves and sacrifices for the wife.

I can see how this passage would rub society the wrong way as it pushes for independence of the individual. But we have to see this as God intended. Yes, there is submission on the part of the wife to the husband, but I would argue that there is submission on the part of the husband to the wife as well. They are one and it is not about the wife being a doormat to the husband, but rather her being the wife of the husband. Likewise it is not about the husband lording over the wife in power and authority, but rather him being the sacrificial protector of the wife. There is submission and respect from the wife, and from the husband there is love and sacrifice.

How do you see the husband and wife relationship? Are you looking at it as a one way street of power and authority from the husband? What if you were to see both sides, submission and respect from the wife and love and sacrifice from the husband?

Not Just External, But Internal

“¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”

— Psalm 19:14 (ESV)

How often have we been “in” a conversation, speaking and hearing, but not really there at all as we are distracted by other goings on. I know that I have and I will admit, that in my prayers and calls on God I am not always there. When I look back, I find that I may have said the right things, but in my head and heart I am distracted and not really in the conversation with God at all. I am reminded this morning that it is not just with our mouth we are to be in commune with God, but our hearts are to me fully engaged as well.

I know that I am “cherry picking” one verse this morning, and I have spoken against that in the past, but hear me out. The title of the passage in my ESV bible this morning is, “The Law of the LORD is Perfect”. That being so, why would we allow ourselves to be distracted away from Him. I know that in sports I long to see things that are identified as “perfect”, the perfect game pitched in baseball, the perfect shot in golf, the perfect pass, or the perfect routine in gymnastics. I am mesmerized in those instances and my focus in fully on the moment. I have to ask myself, if those things are identified as perfect and I am fully engaged, why would I be distracted from the one true perfect one in our LORD.

It is up to me to devote myself to the LORD and what better way to start my days than to fully engage with Him in my prayer. From my mouth to my heart, I am to be mesmerized by Him and His perfection. I am to be all in with Him and allow the LORD to be the captivator of my entire self. I should be with Him both externally and internally.

How is your prayer with the LORD? Are you going through the motions eternally while being distracted internally? What if you were to fully engage in the perfection of the LORD and devote yourself to Him with your words and your heart and allow Him to captivate you?

Wisdom, Get Her and Keep Her

“⁷The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,

and whatever you get, get insight.

⁸Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;

she will honor you if you embrace her.”

— Proverbs 4:7-8 (ESV)

This morning I was reminded that wisdom is referred to as her, and for good reason. As men we are to love our wives as Christ loved the church. We are to get her and love her and devote to her fully and completely and solely. And when we do, we will grow together more and more devoted to one another. As the man or husband we are to leave our families to be with her as our family. Devotion to her in this manner is immense and as a husband of 28 years, I would have it no other way.

Before my devotion to her, I had to first get her. With wisdom, it is no different. I have to first get her and then I can devote to her. I have to seek her out and strive to know her and once I do, I will devote to her and grow. I will gain more of her each day with my devotion to her.

There is a saying, “Getting to number one is the easy part, staying there is where things get hard”. The same can be said for wisdom. I am concerned that we are currently in a world where information is so readily available, that we are mistaking it for knowledge and wisdom. I am not sure that we are seeking to really know things and are resting on the idea that we find the information we were looking for and then “forget” it as we move on to the next thing. This is the “getting to number one…” easy part and are only reaching the pinnacle and then falling back down.

I have to remember to place value in “staying” number one. I have to devote to wisdom and not just gain information. I have to dig in and care for what I learn. I have to commit to it. I have to cultivate it. I have to cherish it. Wisdom is her.

I see the parallel to Lori. I see that I have devoted to Lori. I dig in a care for Lori. I committed to Lori. I cultivated with Lori. I cherish Lori. These are the ways I keep Lori and not just get her. And the same goes for wisdom. All of these are the way to keep her and not just get her.

What are you doing to get wisdom? Are you only focused on getting her? What if you first get her and then devote to, care for, cultivate with, and cherish wisdom to keep her?

Will You Trust the LORD for However Long

This morning I am going to re-post from over 5 years ago. As I am studying the word “will” I am taking what the LORD has for me each day as I go to the next passage. This morning I am in Psalm 13 where the title of the passage is “How Long, O LORD?” David is looking for relief from the LORD (which is a key point) and experiences three steps in seeking that relief, questioning the LORD, asking Him for help, and declaring His devotion to Him. Shouldn’t that be the same approach we take daily with the LORD?

Here is my writing from April 17, 2020:

I sometimes feel, like right now, that the difficulty, adversity, and challenges should be resolved much faster than they are.

“¹How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? ²How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” – Psalm 13:1-2 (ESV)

David felt the same way. I am comforted when reading this passage. As I continue the passage of Psalm 13, I am reminded of the approach to take. As in the next 2 verses as David prays for help.

“³Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, ⁴let my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed over him,’ lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.” – Psalm 13:3-4 (ESV)

So David first laments his questions as to the timing of God’s deliverance. Next, he again prays again for help from God. And finally, he states his confidence in eventual deliverance.

“⁵But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. ⁶I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” – Psalm 13:5-6 (ESV)

It is okay to question God. He is sovereign and He provides for my needs. But that does not mean that I am to be silent. God is my Father and I should be asking questions for guidance. When things are not going the way I thought they should, I have to ask.

I know that as a corporate training professional, one of the things I stress in class is for the participants to take charge of their learning. A key part of that is to ask the questions they need answers to, and no question is off limits. I should be doing the same with God. He is the one that knows all and therefore doesn’t it make sense to ask Him? The answer I get may not be what I wanted, but I have to trust that He will provide when needed.

Have you asked God? Have you declared your trust in Him? Remembering that God’s timing is perfect, will you declare your confidence in His deliverance, no matter how long?