Lately the Lord has been bringing Ephesians 5:25-26 to mind. I've been thinking more seriously about how to love my wife so as to pour myself out in leading her to greater holiness. In other words, I want to do more than simply make her feel loved; I want to be a crucial part in her sanctification. To be honest, I hadn't come up with any groundbreaking ideas, and I certainly have not transformed into Super Husband. Nor has this passage occupied every spare moment of my life. It's just been there, replaying in my head every few days.
Also, I've felt a burden of sharing Jesus with my brother (again) and with my dad (for the first time) when we visit them over Easter. Usually when I pray to share the gospel, I feel guilty because I'm so weak and scared about sharing in an awkward manner. Lately, I've been feeling strangely empowered by God by the simple message of the gospel and my responsibility to be an ambassador of God.
Also, my wife and I are expecting our first child at the end of August.
I now perceive all these things to be a series of left jabs. The Lord was setting me up for the right hand, and I think He just hit me with it:
"Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord."
-Psalm 128:3-4
To be honest, I have a lot of fear of man issues. I'm good at blending in with people, and adapting myself to match a dynamic that I'm presented with. I'm a bit of a chameleon, but certainly not in the double life sense (I'm not doing drugs with the addicts or watching porn with the perverts). But I do seem to always try to blend in, and a big part of it is because I care too much what other people think. The Lord connected with His right hand in Psalm 128:3-4 to tell me that my wife's and kid's fruit-bearing in righteousness is related to my fear of no one else but God.
In other words, my purity is crucial to lives of my wife and kids (did I mention that He "randomly" brought to mind "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" to mind today?)
I have to cling to Him and His guidance and stand up amidst the opposition that will come as I seek to share the gospel with non-believers. I have to cling to the bible despite the ridicule that may come as my wife and I seek wisdom about how to raise this child in the Lord. The Lord is telling me to revere Him above all else; to take Him more seriously, and to confidently and consistently obey every last little thing that He instructs. I sense the Lord desiring that I spend more serious time in His word to help overcome what I perceive to be "normal."
So, why post this?
It seems to me that Psalm 128:3-4 states that a fruitful family begins with a father's reverence for God. Men, are we taking this seriously? Do we comprehend how our prayers, Bible-reading, discipleship, and obedience to the word of God is linked to fruitfulness in our families? Is our time with the Lord of the absolute utmost of importance to us, or has it all become a To-Do list? Are we doing what He commands? Is God's word transforming us internally and externally? Will we if we understand that our families depend on it?
I say these things as the man with a plank in his eye. Maybe you've got merely a speck; but don't be deceived by pride. The bottom line is that God created us, bought us at the great cost of His Son, owns us, and deserves our absolute reverence and obedience; and our wives and kids likewise need such a man if they are going to flourish.
Men, let's stop playing around. Let's spend hours in prayer. Let's spend hours in the word. Let's spend hours in worship. Let's invite our families into it. And let's revere the Lord above all things and do all that He says.
No comments:
Post a Comment