Week 3 - Day 1
(1) Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, (2) when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. (3) Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. (4) Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. (5) For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, (6) like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
Reading: In is this passage, Peter shares a radical message on submission by showing us how a wife should submit to their husband for the kingdom and the glory of God. We understand that this can be a difficult concept, if viewed through a worldly lens, but when we become believers we should see all things through a Godly lens. This means that our ultimate goal is to glorify God the Father, and we do that by submission to God’s will. What Peter is calling the wife to do here is to empower her husband by respecting his position in the relationship, and knowing that her respect, support, and obedience to God will glorify the Lord. In verses 3-5, we learn that Peter isn’t talking about supporting by the way we look or dress, but he is saying it’s the heart, spirit, and commitment to the Lord that will give husbands the support they need. Wives are a gift from God that he uses to make husbands be the best they can be. Husbands couldn’t be all the Lord needs them to be without Godly wives.
Think of your baseball coach as the groom and the players as the bride of a baseball team. You couldn’t have a team without both. The coach needs the players to have a team and the team needs the coach to keep them going in the right direction. Successful baseball teams are made up players (wives). The players should be willing to submit to the vision, direction, and teaching of their coach (husband) for the ultimate goal of winning the championship. If the players are not willing to do so, the team will struggle, and it will show on the field. The only way to be a championship-winning team is submit to the coach, even if you don’t always agree. Sometimes you have to be willing to sacrifice bunt even when you want to hit. The coach knows in the long run that the bunt is what’s best for team to win. The best teams are made up of players who know that, even if they don’t always agree with every decision the coach makes, that in the long run, listening to the coach will get them where they want to go.
Jesus knew that God the Father’s ultimate plan was to save and restore the world. In order for this to happen, he had to submit to the Fathers will. We’re so glad that he did!
Reflection: What is so hard about submission?
Prayer Prompt: Dear Lord, thank you so much for your perfect plan. Thank you for husbands and wives and the importance of each of their roles to glorify you and further the kingdom. Please help me submit and surrender to your ways because your ways are good.