Any Lords Out There?

Any Lords Out There?

     “Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.  Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”

     Do we need to cite the passage?  It is not hidden in there.  In 1 Peter 3, God describes His idea of a healthy marriage relationship.  It is the unit.  It is to function.  And these are the guidelines.

     Men!  Are we lords today?  Not some archaic idea.  On the contrary, lordship today has all the explicative implications to the hilt.  Reviewing Abraham, he was a man in charge of his household.  I am not talking of the foolish decision he made in yielding to his wife’s voice in the giving of Hagar as his mistress.  I am talking of the 99.9% of the time he spent commanding his small army with many livestock as they journeyed about Canaan and even down to Egypt and over to the Philistines.  Sure, he feared these two, but God reminded him that He was greater.  Sarah wasn’t his sister.  She was his wife.  And that made all the difference.

     Therefore, breaking it down.  These same commandments God gave in 1 Peter, He gave to Abraham.  God’s marriage vehicle is the same.  He still wants godly offspring, and this relationship is best.  Even to Adam, listen up!  Marriage goes back to the garden.  It has survived the fall, the flood, continental upheaval, wars, famines, kingdoms waxing and waning, the cross’ victory over Satanic rebellion, Nero, Church corruption, Church reformation, and finally the present as it keeps time with the relevant here.  In other words, the marriage institution has fought bloody battles, but has reigned as king.  So, God didn’t mess up.

     Back to Abraham.  He was a man of responsibility.  He welcomed that role not as Moses at his first.  He left Haran with a mission and a calling.  He was to keep those who had been entrusted to him as Jesus with His disciples.  Protection primarily but God highlights symbiosis here in 1 Peter.  “Husbands…dwell…giving honor…being heirs…”  If we want our engines to run, we must follow God’s imperatives.

     Men, do you want to be called lords with all the respect do as in Ephesians 5?  Then we are to know our wives.  Abraham asked Sarah, Adam asked Eve, “How was your day?”  My wife does not volunteer information.  In fact, she is rather reserved about disclosure because she thinks it only burdens me.  But, I am interested in her, and I desire her thoughts even if they are not filled with joy and a perpetual gladness for the things I have provided for her.  What troubles her, troubles me.

     Men, do you want it to be easy for your wife to love you?  Apple pies, a down comforter, a soft nest called home, etc.?  Then we can honor them by telling them how important they are to us.  They are our God-given helpers, right?

     Lastly, we can dwell with them as coheirs if we acknowledge the Head.  I stopped fighting this battle when I understood Jesus was the head of my family.  He moves about my residency and is faithful to keep us in time.  My wife and I graph this life in continuity as His Spirit communicates reality to us.  He is the flow and for me to stand in the current only creates destructive swirls about me. 

     He has entrusted us as lords of our households.  We can take this responsibility as Abraham did embarking on the mission of Godliness.