2002-01-01
Good Morning Dearest Readers,
When I read through today’s passage, 1 PET 3: 1-6, I realized that it is in a section about wives and husbands. However, upon rereading it, the message therein really applies to any person married or not even though it is directed at wives. “In the same way you wives must submit yourselves to your husbands, so that if any of them do not believe God’s word, your conduct will win them over to believe. It will not be necessary for you to say a word, because they will see how pure and reverent your conduct is. You should not use outward aids to make yourselves beautiful, such as the way you fix your hair, or the jewelry you put on, or the dresses you wear. Instead, your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest value in God’s sight. For the devout women of the past who placed their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful by submitting themselves to their husbands. Sarah was like that; she obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are now her daughters if you do good and are not afraid of anything.”
My assertion above needs some explanation. There is no question that this message is directed at wives. However, if you remove the gender-oriented language from it, you are left with a message that is critical for all of us. That message is that one’s true beauty doesn’t come from words said, clothes and jewelry worn. Instead, it comes from the example set of behavior that is a natural outgrowth of a quiet, reverent spirit that lives out the profound faith in God that it has. In modern life, our relationships are not enforced slavery to each other; they can be strength that comes from faithful, trusting, obedient submission to God. That kind of strength is the kind that not only engenders respect in others, but it pleases God and transcends the grave! Of course, it makes a marriage better when its applied in the context of marriage. But, it can also make our relationships with other brothers and sisters in Christ something wonderful too.
When I wrote about the ancient Jewish wedding for the course I recently taught, it was my happy discovery that a loving wife thinks of her husband as her king, and an adoring husband thinks of his wife as his queen. If my experience of having just short of 25 years of a happy marriage is right, that is exactly the way my husband Peter and I still think of each other, and it just keeps on getting better as the years roll by. I hope some day to write a series of devotions about the Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon), a series of love poems found just after Ecclesiastes in the Bible. This beautiful part of our Scriptures isn’t often studied, something which I think is a great shame. Some of these poems are written by the man to the woman, others by the woman to the man. These songs or poems have been interpreted by the Jews as a picture of the relationship between God and His people. Christians often interpret them to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church. I hope you will take the time to read them for yourselves.
It is sad that the world we live in is so obsessed with physical appearance. I always hope that I am using this forum that God has given me responsibly. Perhaps I’m putting myself out on a limb to say this, but there is a trend that is going on that I personally find very repulsive. It is the wearing of tattoos and putting jewelry on unusual places on the body. There is actual comment on this in LV 19: 27-28, “Do not cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard or tattoo yourselves or cut gashes in your body to mourn for the dead. I am the Lord.” I found this citation in a section on laws of holiness and justice. One needs only to look at the ads on TV to see how focused on physical appearance and sex our society has become. Not all of us are given a slim physique, a handsome evenly proportioned face, or luxuriant hair. But we are given the opportunity to reflect the light of God through our eyes and to have hearts that pour out steams of life-giving water [see MT 5: 16 & JN 7: 38]. We must remember EPH 2: 10, “God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus He has created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do.”
1 COR 7: 14 sheds some interesting light on a difficult subject, the marriage of a believer to a spouse who is not one. “For the unbelieving husband is made acceptable to God by being united to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made acceptable to God by being united to her Christian husband. If this were not so, their children would be like pagan children; but as it is, they are acceptable to God.” I know of many marriages that start out with one partner being devout and the other not. Many of them end up with the non-believer coming to faith. It might start out “for the sake of the children,” but in time real faith claims the heart of the once-non-believing spouse. Nagging never needs to be a part of this process. The Holy Spirit does. And, it is the Holy Spirit that will give the devout partner in such a marriage the patience and guidance to know what kind of example to set for his or her partner that will build real and lasting faith for the whole family.
I don’t think that those of you who read this marriage and are not married should feel left out of it. The same rules for conduct that is the main principle here applies to everyone. Real strength, the kind that matters, comes from trustful, faithful, obedient submission to God. We as individuals and as the Body of Christ are greatly uplifted and spiritually nourished by the extraordinary friendships that can occur between those living “in Christ.” Our lives are so enhanced by such relationships, in a way not available from any other source but our loving Abba. I can testify to this first hand. It brings me personally closer to God to be a good friend and to have good friends. That is what God’s aim for us is-in engaging in koininea, that very special bond that exists between a believer, other believers, and God. This is not a gender-specific aim; it is one that exists within in marriage and outside of it.
PRAYER: O Lord, when the apostle Peter speaks of pure and reverent conduct being a more effective faith-builder than words, he is speaking of human words. Your word is perfect. When Peter speaks of beauty, he is describing the “true inner beauty, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,” that can only come from You. How blessed we are that You love us so much that You make that kind of conduct and that kind of beauty available to every person who lives “in Christ!” Dearest Lord, You teach us that our physical attributes are temporary, that we will eventually be given immortal “resurrection bodies.” Through Peter, You show us that outside trappings such as clothing, jewelry, or having pictures drawn on our bodies have nothing to do with what is true beauty. These things do not make us more valuable to You. Your love for us is unconditional. You deserve to have Your children approach You in humble reverence, in an attitude of trust, obedience, and profound faith. Our response to Your love should be reflection of that love toward others, offering You honor, glory, magnification of Your holy name, and desire to conform to the image of Jesus Christ. When we show our love for You this way, You make us beautiful. We offer You our thanksgiving for that and so much more. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at 1 PET 3: 7-12, a passage which begins speaking to husbands and then goes on to principles of conduct for all of us. In reading today’s message, I hope you are basking in the warmth of the agape (unconditional) love that God has for all who believe or who might come to faith. We are such a blessed people! Peter (my husband) and I also send you our love today.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn