I had a great talk with a friend from school, Laurin. I don't know what it is, but I seem to attract the Laurins/Lories/Lauras/Lindsis/Linseys/Lindsays of the world. ;) What can I say? I'm a babe magnet!


Anyway.


Laurin is getting married in August, and her younger sister had a great observation about this: "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord... Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it..." (Ephesians 5: 22-25).


The question was posed: Why would it say "Women, submit yourselves" and why would it say "Husbands, love your wives"? And Laurin's younger sister says, "Well, it's a reminder. I mean, most men don't have a problem submitting to their wives. If she asks for something, he's going to bend over backwards. But a lot of women have trouble being submissive in general. And women don't usually have trouble showing affection or loving, especially if it's their husband, but most men just sort-of forget to love their wives. So it's a reminder of the faults that most people of each gender have in general."


I always used to have a problem with Ephesians 5 until I actually was engaged, and it wasn't until that time that I actually understood what it was saying. And I don't really feel like defending Ephesians 5 because a lot of people still do have a problem with it, so I'll just say that it's both husbands and wives who are submitting unto each other--which is a good thing.


But I really enjoyed the observation a younger perspective. And even though it isn't applicable to everyone, but I think there's a general application that a lot of marriages could benefit from. Being open enough to submit yourself to the person you love most in the world. That's always a good thing to keep in mind.

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