Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
How do you live a life that holds others up? What does it mean to submit to one another? Let’s start with a passage and then consider a real-life example that demonstrates how we are to place others above ourselves. Our passage is from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
Peter’s instruction is not fancy or flowery. He is speaking to men in a concise and straightforward manner. Husbands must lead their homes. And they must lead God’s way. Failure here ends in a broken family…and a trail of broken hearts.
I love the fact that Peter uses Sarah as an inspired example of biblical submission. Read her story in Genesis 11-23. She was not a wallflower who waited on Abraham to call the shots. She was an opinionated woman, who devised an ill-conceived family plan (Genesis 16:1-2), mistreated the accomplice (Genesis 16:6), laughed at God (Genesis 18:12), and finally ordered Abraham to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael by sending them off to wander in the desert (Genesis 21:9-10). Sarah destroys the world’s twisted picture of submission!
The trap of outward appearance, whether wearing too much or too little to draw attention, has been an issue since Job made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a woman (Job 31:1). In our passage today, the apostle Peter weighs in. Peter is not writing against hairstyles, jewelry, or fashionable clothes. Instead, he is writing against the temptation to spend more time primping the fleshly “outward” look than prepping the spiritual inward character.
The believer’s life should be attractive and inviting to those who don’t know Jesus. This also applies to every believer’s marriage relationship. Today’s passage is directed toward wives, and Peter’s words are misunderstood by many. Let’s work to understand how Scripture addresses the role of the wife in her marriage.
A wandering sheep is a meal ready to be eaten. Separated from the flock, a straying sheep is vulnerable to the attack of wild animals. They also risk falling, rolling over on their backs, and as a result, incapable of getting up. Straying sheep are in danger of getting lost and staying lost until they meet their demise. Apart from Jesus, we are all “straying like sheep”—lost in sin, vulnerable to the Enemy, and caught in spiritual darkness. But that all changes with Jesus!
Jesus was the substitute. He died in our place for our sins. In yesterday’s passage, we considered how Jesus provided a great example for us to follow regarding suffering. In this next verse, Peter quickly adds that Christ’s work on the cross was much more than a great man leaving a great example. Peter explains what is known in theology as “the substitutionary atonement.”
Peter wrote his first letter from Rome in late AD 64/early AD 65 during intense persecution. The mistreatment normally started in the larger cities and then spread throughout the countryside. Peter wrote to believers in what is today Northern Turkey. He wrote to warn and prepare them for the undoubtedly tough times ahead. Peter explained that Jesus was the example of how to respond to suffering.
There are times in life our circumstances don’t seem fair even though we are following the Lord. When the believer handles these situations well, it “is a gracious thing in the sight of God.” But let’s be honest. There are times when believers are habitually late, waste time, are poor team players, don’t pull their weight on a project, demonstrate a bad attitude, and perform poorly. If any of those things describe you, don’t cry foul when you are confronted.
Not every job is the perfect job. Not every boss is fair. Not every assignment is your first choice. Not every project can get done in a forty-hour…or even fifty-hour week. Not every pay increase is what you expected. Not every promotion goes your way. Not every meeting is your awards ceremony. Not every transfer is your choice. This is the world…the real world we live in.
Certainly, we are to demonstrate love to believers. We are to live in reverence and awe of God. We are to show honor to those placed in authority over us. And…don’t miss the first two words of this verse…we are to show proper respect to everyone.
“How can a man be happy who is the servant of anything?” That question was asked by the Greek philosopher Plato. Most people would agree. We live in an Invictus age where “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” At least, I want to be! Freedom and happiness are seen as the result of being in total control. But for the believer, freedom takes a different turn.