1Peter 2:9(NLT) proclaims, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” Heavenly Father tells us that we’re not like the people that rejected Jesus Christ when he walked the face of the earth. They denied the reality and truth that he is the cornerstone that holds everything and everyone up. They refused to acknowledge God’s goodness and love by believing in the One that He sent to save us all, but we are not like this. We are God’s chosen people, His children, and we belong to Him. In 1Peter 2:9, He has given us an extremely important characteristic that identifies us as His kids. It is the privilege and responsibility to show others His goodness. This begs us to answer the question, “How are you demonstrating God’s goodness to others?”
As single Christian women, this is a very important aspect of our Christian walk, and it must be firmly in place before we get married. In part, its importance is attributed to the reality that being a spouse is the greatest opportunity that Heavenly Father gives us to constantly and intimately show His love and goodness. It is our chance to make a lasting impact on the life of one of God’s treasures, and to produce a family that will continue a legacy of God’s love.
Ephesians 5:22-24(NLT) instructs, “22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. 24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.” Many women have a problem with the word “submit”, because they think it means someone can order them around and that they must comply. It’s a shame that people have turned this beautiful practice and quality that God requires in a love relationship into something it was never meant to be.
Most of us that have jobs will submit to just about anything the boss man or boss lady wants us to do, all so we can get that paycheck. We’ll wear the shoes or clothes they tell us to wear, and we’ll buy into their mission completely if it means we can keep earning money and getting promoted. We’ll do this for them, even though most of us don’t have a love relationship with our jobs. And not only this, most of us trust that boss man or boss lady isn’t going to tell us to do something that would cause us harm. We trust that whatever it is they are telling us to do is for the good of the company and all concerned. If we do this for people of the world, why would we do less for God? Believers should never do less, but we should do all that we can to show our Heavenly Father that we trust His Word. We should go all out to demonstrate our reverence, honor, appreciation and gratitude, because He deserves it.
Heavenly Father tells us in His Word how to live through His love so we can remain blessed. He would never tell us to do anything harmful, and He will never hurt us in anyway. He created us, and He knows what is best. He created the marital union, and He has provided the blueprint in His Word for how this union works efficiently and effectively. As His beloved daughters, Heavenly Father will tell us when we’ve met the man that He has ordained to walk with us through life. God is the One that puts the man and woman together, and when the woman is diligent to seek God for this wisdom, she can trust that she is marrying a treasure. Her husband is someone she can lovingly submit to, as he will submit to her as well.
When it comes to the marriage, there’s no doubt that the man has a distinct role, and there are responsibilities that he has been commanded by God to uphold. Ephesians 5:25-26(NLT) teaches, “25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.” Heavenly Father has made it known to us that He expects His daughters to receive this kind of love from their husbands. It is wonderful to know that He will bless us in this way. But we can’t ever forget that men are just as precious to God. When we show appreciation for our husbands, we are honoring the order that God set forth and appreciating His provision of the marital union.
In today’s society, most people totally ignore the standards and statues that God has ordained for marriage, and we have paid a very high price for this. God’s way is the path to blessings, abundance, and unity. He instructs us in 1Peter 1:14-16(NLT), “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” Some of us think we know best, but only God knows what is best. When we humble ourselves and are committed to Him as His set-apart people, we can have confidence that He will bless our marriages and help us to keep them strong. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“God Will Help Keep Our Marriages Strong”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.