“Bloom where you are planted.” My word for the week has been “submission,” the Bible’s how-to way…yes, it’s actually very practical…for actively bringing pure love into marriage and family.
To people hung up on the word “submit,” consider how men lorded it over women in antiquity. The Greek comedian Philemon (c. 362 – c. 262 B.C.) wrote, “It is a good wife’s duty, O Nikostrate, to be devoted to her husband, but in subordination; a wife who prevails is a great evil.” The philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.): “The male is by nature superior, and the female inferior; and the one rules, and the other is ruled…. The courage of a man is shown in commanding, of a woman in obeying.”
Those were Greeks. The Romans were the same mind. From the Twelve Tables, an early compilation of Roman laws: “Women, even though they are of full age, because of their levity of mind shall be under guardianship….” An epitaph to a deceased wife: “Here lies Ennia Fructuosa, dearest wife, whose modesty was proved and whose obedience praised.” Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.): “I must thank heaven for such a wife as mine, so submissive, so loving, and so artless.” The Roman jurist Gaius (130-180 A.D) wrote a comprehensive review of Roman law. “While it is customary for both men and women to be in power, only women fall into marital subordination.” Unlike Americans, people in the Roman Empire wouldn’t bat an eye when biblical authors talked about submission.
For them, it was about power. For us, “submission” is shorthand for reflecting the selfless love of Christ. Your husband doesn’t believe? Peter’s advice was, my words, don’t nag about going to church. Instead, be a wife filled with winsome Christian conduct and hope” (1 Peter 3:1-6). You’re a believing husband? Marriage is not about your manliness. Live with your wife as an equal before God (1 Peter 3:7). And Paul, in that famous passage, tells us all that marriage reflects the mystery of Christ’s love for the church. “Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…. submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:1, 21-33).
Christians bloom wherever we’re planted. “Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible” (Ephesians 6:24).
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