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Let’s face it, perfection is never attainable in any part of life. No perfect wife, no perfect house, no perfect job and certainly no perfect husband exists. Perfection in this life is just a myth and fairytale. No matter how perfect husbands appear to be on TV and in the movies, no such person can be found. So, when I read this book hope was stirred for a normal life.
Sunday we will examine the passage in Ephesians 5:22-33 to see what it says to husbands. We’ve taken time to see what it says to wives. Now, we must be sure to closely note what it says to husbands. One thing that is perfectly clear is that husbands are to love their wives. What does this love look like? How should it be expressed? These and other questions will be answered.
Between now and Sunday a good exercise for each of us as husbands is to ask ourselves what our shortcomings are. Honestly look into the mirror of your soul to see what your wife sees. That kind of honesty will result in stringer marriages and better relationships between husbands and wives. Then, acknowledge these shortcomings and begin to go to work on them.
How many of us while growing up looked forward to Friday? I know I did. I would complete each Friday by saying, “Thank goodness it’s Friday!” I was so glad another week of school was over. The weekend was beckoning me and I was ready for FUN. Mondays were just not as joyful. Fridays; sometimes they were really good for me.
One particular Friday in human history has been called “Good Friday.” If we didn’t know better we might conclude some really exciting event happened on that Friday. We might decide it is so called because a happy event happened. I doubt many of us, if any of us, would call the day a loved one died as a good day. It is, rather, a day of sorrow, mourning and pain. Good? I don’t think so.
Can anyone imagine calling “good” a day on which they were beaten, rejected, and died? Our enemies might call that day “good.” But, if we had a chance I doubt that is what we would call it. Yet, the day on which Jesus Christ died for lost sinners, paying the penalty of death and separation from HIs Father, we call it good. So, for whom is this day good?
To be exchanged for a murdering, thieving, rebel isn’t good. To die for his crimes wouldn’t be good. To be spit upon by a crowd of hecklers wouldn’t be good. To see your friends deny they know you wouldn’t be good. To have one you considered a close friend betray you to killers wouldn’t be good. To be nailed to a wooden cross to die a slow excruciating death would not be good. So, why do we call it good?
It was good because Jesus willingly followed His Father’s will. It is good because He obeyed His Father in the face of death. It is good because His Father had already declared that Jesus was “His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased.” It was good because even though the perpetrators didn’t know it, they were part of God’s plan. It was good because so many prophecies from the Old Testament were fulfilled that Friday. It was good because this one Lamb would provide redemption for so many. It might not have been so good for Jesus, but it was GREAT for us.
Today you need to stop to reflect upon the events of that day. You and I need to contemplate how horrible it must have been, how painful and how humiliating it must have been. Take time to consider the Gospel chapters that tell the story. Meditate upon Hebrews 12:1-3. Think about what the writer means when he says, “..endured…despising…shame…hostility…” Go back to reread the passages that relate Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Ask yourself, where would I be if I was part of the story? Would you do better than they did? Would run and hide or stand up? Would any of us be Judas? Do we secretly posses a heart of stone? What would come out of our mouth? What?
But, as the now famous saying goes, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s comin’.”
Good Friday? Not so much for Jesus, but so much for us. Don’t finish today without taking some time to give thanks to your Saviour for providing you with redemption.
Which Easter story will you celebrate? It seems the world has gone so much for the easter bunny, chocolate and eggs that the entire story of Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection has been lost. Speak to people today about what Easter is all about and most will not even know about Jesus’ resurrection. Like Santa Claus, the easter bunny has come front and center. Historically the concept of an easter bunny came from immigrants from Germany. We are told German Lutherans brought this tradition with them. Why they began to use the image of a bunny for easter is unclear. But, it has certainly become the dominate theme in our culture today.
Though we might add coloring eggs, hiding eggs, or eating chocolate to our Easter celebration, it must never replace the real message of Christ’s resurrection. How important is the resurrection of Jesus? In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul lists three reasons the resurrection is indispensable to our faith. In 15:12-13 Paul says if there is no resurrection then even Jesus did not rise from the dead. That would mean He is still in the tomb, dead like all other human religious leaders. Second, in 15:14 and 17 Paul says if Christ is not alive our faith is futile, vain, empty, and useless! Who wants to own something that is useless? No one. Thirdly, in 15:15 Paul says if Jesus is not alive then his witnesses are false witnesses. That is, if we preach He is alive and He isn’t, then we are just liars. Like telling people the easter bunny is real, when we know it isn’t, if we tell people Jesus is alive and He isn’t, we are just telling fables. It becomes yet just another false hope.
But, HE IS ALIVE! He did come forth from the tomb. He was triumphant over death, hell and Satan. That first of all Easter Sunday mornings the disciples came to the tomb sad and despondent to finish the task of burial. But, their gloom turned to great joy. They saw and heard the message, He is not here, He’s ALIVE. No longer would death hold Him.
In the Book Romans Paul says this, “…declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead…” (Rom. 1:4) God assured us that His Son was His Son by bringing Him out from among the dead ones. He is ALIVE. Praise His name.
