Morning Musings with the boys at breakfast...
How does one get to know and comprehend God's will?! A good dose of reading God's Word daily will help a person to know God's will, in their heads, at least. Just the knowing, however can cause a person to get puffed up and have a 'big' head. Pride. So that is not so good. So to read and understand what one is reading and to really "get it", a person must also obey it. In this way, one can really and truly KNOW God's will and way for their lives.
Read--Know---Understand---Obey--Really Know
Ephesians 5 has many things listed for us to do that are His will. When we know them and have experienced His will and knowledge of Him, our thankfulness can spill over in songs, hymns, spiritual songs in praise to God for all the great and marvelous deeds He has done.
Here's a few samples that start back in chapter 4, actually, and verse 17 but goes on throughout chapter 5:21-33 and chapter 6:1-9. In the first instance God's Word talks about living as children of the light. Jesus is the Light of the world. We children follow His example and walk in His light.
We didn't earn our own salvation. God sent Jesus to win it for us and through His death and resurrection. We could NOT help ourselves. Therefore, to live as children of God we also can't help ourselves. Jesus sent us His Holy Spirit to aid and abet us to live a Christ-like life.
Ephesians 5:1 asks us to be imitators of God just as Christ was while here on earth as a man. So we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit (vs 8) and then we can sing and then we can submit (v21) to one another as Christ submitted to His Father. With the Holy Spirit's help wives can also submit to their husbands; husbands can love their wives; children can obey and honor their parents; fathers will not exasperated their children; slaves can obey their masters and masters will treat their slaves decently.
I praise God for His Holy Spirit within me to lead, guide and help me especially to make me willing to submit to my husband (not that he's such a bad guy but human nature likes to override). It takes a lot of God's grace to do this. But God says His grace is "sufficient".
To submit to him everything (vs 22-24) and to respect him (vs 13) is not an easy task. Human will can be STRONG especially if the other half is not doing his/her part assigned to him/her or not doing so in the amount that we would like but only flickers of it occasionally.
And so my sons, the Christian wife has to do her part as she is responsible to God for her part and needs to let God and the Holy Spirit work on her husband. You may well be husbands (who belong to the Lord Jesus) one day, remember that you too will be responsible for your part whether or not your wife is doing hers.
We can pray though. Fervent and sincere prayers; do our submitting and respecting and loving parts and then sit back and let God do His bit. This will really be "KNOWING" God's word. Now in this next bit you'll be reading, please, husbands, fathers, sons, do not take offense...it is not meant to give offense. God's Word is often hard to take but when we truly, from the heart, wish to obey God, we will "man-up" with God's humility and see the nitty-gritty of what God wants us to put into action. May the 'love of Christ' constrain us all (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Review all the instructions designated for all the categories of people and relationships from Ephesians 5:21-22; 25-33; 6:1-9. I don't think one can substitute and say no those 'commands' are not, not for fathers only. For instance, saying they are supposed to be for the mothers too. (6:4). Certainly mothers shouldn't exasperate their children but fathers are supposed to be the heads of their respective family and therefore have the ultimate responsibility over all. Also, they are the ones who tend to use their male power and might 'lord it over' the wife and children and to feel they have the right since they are The Head.
Not sure where I picked up the following comment about this verse (Eph 6:4): "Fathers do not exasperate your children.." but one explanation goes like this: "Fathers must surrender any right they may feel they have to act unreasonably toward their children." Thus the distinction just for them in this. My sons, you will one day be husbands and fathers. Think on this well.
When Christian fathers have trained and instructed themselves well in the Lord, to know and understand and obey God's will and Word, they can then pass this on to their children. The children will well know if the father is sincere or not. His character and conduct will either make or break his child.Fathers don't perpetuate how you were treated as a child. That is, if you were physically &/or emotionally abused, forgive your perpetrator; it will be a huge challenge but God can give you the victory in time. When you do you will be freed to change your behavior to a more Christ-like one. Then your children will know the love of Christ is not harsh and unforgiving and demoralizing or abasing but one that builds up and gives grace and dignity. Then you will not exasperate your children.
The objective is for your childrens' hearts to turn towards your father heart and your father heart will turn towards your childrens' (Malachi 4:5) in a loving cycle of mutual respect and appropriate love in ever increasing measures as Christ has done for His church.
Don't send your children to bed with anger and bitterness in their heart due to your mishandling. You are the adult. You are supposed to be the mature one. Know and do God's will and your children will learn to be Christ-like right along with you. It will then be a very happy Father's Day every day and the Father heart of God will also rejoice right along with you as you seek, know, understand and obey His will.~ERC 2016~
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