Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ
This book had plenty of great insights into how preposterous much of the climate action is. Not only is it almost entirely “gesture” it is built on a very dim view of humanity in general and our resilience in facing problems and solving them through industrious work. This was a great book. Worth your time (just ignore his Carbon Tax proposal)!
The fifth Chronicle begins neither in England, nor in Narnia. Chronicles 1-4 & 6 all begin in England. This one begins in a foreign land (Calormene) in the Narnia world. And The Last Battle begins in Narnia. This is also the only one where there is no “travel” between our world and Narnia.
Which is strange considering this is a story marked by many partings & reunions. It follows the adventures of Shasta, a boy who has been raised by a cruel fisherman. Without love, without wealth, without imagination. But one day a wealthy nobleman needs to spend the night in the fisherman’s home. Shasta learns he is to be sold to the nobleman as a slave, and that he wasn’t really the fisherman’s son. Before he flees, the nobleman’s horse (Bree) speaks to him and informs him that he is a Narnian horse, and longs to return to his homeland. Shasta and the horse concoct a plan to escape together. They succeed in their escape.
But eventually they meet a similarly fleeing princess (tarkina) and her talking horse (Aravis & Whin). They join forces, but are separated in the capital city, where Shasta meets the Narnian cohort (Susan & Edmund, and their attendants). But he also meets a boy who is his spitting image, but is Prince Corin of Archenland.
Once Shasta and his separated companions are reunited, it is revealed that Aravis has learned that Rabadash, prince of Calormene is concocting a plan to kidnap Susan, force her to be his wife, and conquer Archenland and Narnia for his father. Thus, they rush through desert and mountain to reach King Lune of Archenland in time to warn him. Along the way Shasta is once more separated, and is sent alone to find King Lune & warn him of the coming danger. By good fortune, he finds the King in time, warns him, but is once more separated. He wanders, accidentally into Narnia, and again, by a guiding hand (er…paw), is able to warn the Narnian’s of their ally’s danger.
They return to King Lune’s aid just in time. There it is revealed that Shasta is, in fact, King Lune’s son, who’d been kidnapped in infancy. Through this whole saga, operating as it were in the shadows, the Lion has been guiding the whole story, even the darkest chapters, to a bright deliverance.
This is, by my reckoning, the first introduction of any sort of organized religion in the Narnian books; and this religion is, of course, a false one. Grave, mysterious, bloody, and ruled over by the demon-god Tash (who reappears in The Last Battle). These last three chronicles are much more “theological” in their themes and plots. This book sets up the antipathy that existed between two religious systems, which The Last Battle will explore further.
I think it could easily be shown that this chronicle is a parable of “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit (Pro 29:23).” When you start looking for this, you see it all over the story.
Shasta the lowly orphan raised to become heir of Archenland’s throne. Rabadash the impetuous, haughty prince of Calormen is turned into an ass (because he totally is an ass). Bree the great war-horse is confronted with the realization that when he gets to Narnia he will be just an average-joe Narnian horse (“as long as you know you’re nobody special, you’ll be a very decent sort of Horse”).
Aravis the Tarkina becomes a fugitive, but is raised up to become queen, but only after her vanity is humbled, her haughty pride of place is chastised by the Lion’s claws. The Tisroc is revered as god-like authority, but everyone knows he will still die. Or as Bree shrewdly observed, “I don’t want him to live forever, and I know that he’s not going to live forever whether I want him to or not.”
One of the most easily applicable lessons to be gleaned from this tale is how to live nobly. There are two descriptions we’re given on this front, which we would do well to take to heart. The first can be found in King Lune of Archeland’s admonishment to his son, “For this is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there’s hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land.”
The lesson here is that there will be engagement with enemies. This is a non-negotiable. Thus, a true Narnian spirit is one that leads with courage and sacrifice. In the face of a fight, the instinct is to run to battle and not away. Even in the hardest of circumstance, a Narnian does all this jovially and sets the example of resisting moroseness and despair. Enduring sorrow & suffering is arguably the theme of this book; and King Lune’s admonition here is that lesson stated explicitly. More on that in a second.
The second description which provides a helpful template for how freemen should live and behave is found when Shasta first meets the Narnians during their envoy to Tashban:
“Shasta had never seen anyone like them before. For one thing, they were all as fair-skinned as himself, and most of them had fair hair. And they were not dressed like men of Calormen. Most of them had legs bare to the knee. Their tunics were of fine, bright, hardy colours – woodland green, or gay yellow, or fresh blue. Instead of turbans they wore steel or silver caps, some of them set with jewels, and one with little wings on each side of it. A few were bare-headed. The swords at their sides were long and straight, not curved like Calormene scimitars. And instead of being grave and mysterious like most Calormenes, they walked with a swing and let their arms and shoulders go free, and chatted and laughed. One was whistling. You could see that they were ready to be friends with anyone who was friendly, and didn’t give a fig for anyone who wasn’t. Shasta thought he had never seen anything so lovely in his life.”
If we, as a community of believers, labored to imitate that wonderful description in how we behave ourselves, it will be like the wafting scent of some delicious bakery to this starving world. Be ready to be friends with everyone, and don’t give a rip for what the world thinks about you.
As I alluded to a moment ago, the theme of this book is learning that the lion’s claws sometimes cut us deeply, sometimes his roar startle us. But this suffering should not be seen as pointless. This tale instructs us that suffering should lead us to obey the Lord in faith.
As the narrator reminds us, “If you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one.” We think that if we do some good deed, kick some wicked habit, or overcome some temptation that we can settle in someplace cozy. But sorrow and suffering are given to us as thorns to spur us onward in our pursuit of holiness.
Obedience in the sunshine is quite easy. Obedience in the shadows is not. When all around my soul gives way…what then? Well, that is precisely where faith is shown to be genuine or fraudulent.
Though you walk through death’s valley, the Lion is there before you, behind you, above you, beside you, and underneath you. But His presence is only found by the humble. It is the meek who will inherit the earth. The haughty will be turned into a laughingstock. The Psalmist teaches us this same lesson: “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth (Psa 34:15-16).”
Grace is only for the humble. While God’s fierce immovability is for the proud. Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face. All of your hardships were picked out by the kind providence of God. He aims to humble you, so that He might raise you up. The cross is followed by the crown. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
If you hadn’t noticed, the world is a bit topsy-turvey at the moment. As you all enter adulthood, you are faced with hard times. Congrats. You can either mope about it, complaining about previous generations idiocy. Or you can say, “I need a lion or bear thrown in to make it more interesting (Cf. Pro. 23:16).”
This is a time for courage. But courage isn’t a pill you take. It isn’t a class at a Christian Liberal Arts college. Courage isn’t found in poasting edgy memes. Courage is the steadfast stance of faith. God is your God. Believe it. Then live it.
But we must first ask, “Where does discouragement come from?” There are a few ways in which staunchness can turn into stench. First, discouragement can arise from unconfessed sin. The cure, of course, is to confess your sin. To God & to those you’ve sinned against. Then sin no more. In the battle against darkness, harboring evil or disobedience in your own heart is doing the Enemy’s dirty work for him. Think of the Lord’s warning in Leviticus 26:14-17 “But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.”
Secondly, discouragement can arise from saying yes to going along with sinners. In other words, you may not be doing anything sinful per se (or so you argue with yourself), but you keep finding yourself keeping company with knuckleheads & idiots. Solomon’s instruction is the cure if this describes you: “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not (Pro 1:10).” Learn to say “No.” “No” to your own heart, and “no” to the enticements of evildoers.
A third source of discouragement comes from external trials. This one is trickier. It may be that you look around you and think that you didn’t ask for any of this. You were minding your own business. You didn’t ask to be cast in a dystopian novel about tyrannical mad scientists & politicians wanting to run experiments on you, while you wear VR headsets in a pod, being fed plant-based meat goo, and sedated with AI kink-porn generated specifically for you. Trials which arise without your doing can discourage. But you must not, for any reason, make excuses. Here be dragons, demons, devils, and dictators. You can either be a NPC or imitate Christ and open prison doors through Gospel fidelity and Gospel proclamation (Is. 61:1).
Let me go on a little rabbit trail to Middle Earth for a moment. There’s a wonderful line in The Hobbit where it describes Bilbo entering Smaug’s lair for the first time. He had already faced many dangers, and acquitted himself nobly & courageously. But the seemingly small step from the safety of the tunnel into the danger of Smaug’s treasure room was described this way: “It was at this point [the end of the secret tunnel] that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.”
It was that small step of courage that enabled great feats of history. In other words, faithfulness in a thousand daily duties is what leads to great exploits. You aren’t born courageous, you become courageous by doing the good things you know you ought to do, even when no one sees it; and fleeing the evil things you ought not to do even if everyone is telling you otherwise.
Furthermore, Scripture teaches us where true courage comes from: “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you (Isa 35:3-4).” Inward strength & fortitude arise from eyes fixed on Christ. This passage in Isaiah is foretelling the coming of the New Covenant mercies which Christ would usher in, and the exhortation to strength is in the context of the sweeping reformation which His redeeming work would bring about.
You cannot stand firm on toothpick stilts of self-determination, or self-righteousness. The only solid ground is that God, in Christ, has forgiven all your sins and given you His Spirit in order that you might walk in all righteousness. Paul exhorts the Corinthian church this way, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong (1Co 16:13).” This steadfast courage arises from those who know and believe that they have been buried with Christ, and raised into the life of resurrection which Christ secured for them, and which the Spirit assures them of. One saint of old said it this way, “My time is short; I must be up and doing; I must go briskly on with my work, leaving it to my Lord to find me strength for it and success in it. His blessing I expect here and forever; not for anything I have done; and yet I would labor as hard as if heaven was to be the reward of my labors.”
And so, as the hymn reminds us, “Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take.” You’ve got a lifetime of hardship ahead. Don’t bemoan it. Don’t give way to discouragement. Rise to occasion. Play the man. Let Christ be seen in how you keep your room, your budget, your browsing history, your words to friends and strangers.
As William Plumer, a theologian of yesteryear, wrote, “Would you have dauntless courage in all coming trials and persecutions? Die unto sin, hold fast the covenant and promises of God, and let Christ be all in all to you. He who would not be filled with shame, must first count the cost of all he undertakes. God’s word and Spirit are always on the side of truth and duty, and may be infallibly relied on. The enemy has no arts nor devices that have not been thwarted a thousand times. He can be beaten. He has been vanquished.”
Paul commands the Philippian believers to “Be careful (anxious) for nothing (Phi 4:6).” Jesus taught, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on (Mat 6:25).” In both instances the word for careful/thought is merimnaō. Very simply it means one’s cares or worries. Biblically, anxiety is caring about something to the point of distraction. Anxiety and fear tend to go together. When you are anxious over something it can very easily lead to a whole host of largely irrational fears. When we begin to carry a worry to the point where it consumes almost our entire attention we have grown anxious.
Anxiety can cripple a person to the point of almost entire inaction. Fear can breed more fears, which breeds fear of fears. Anxiety can lead to severe health issues, and fear can lead to severe relational issues. The stress of anxiety can cause heart attacks, high blood pressure, whereas fear can result in being unable to function normally in our relationships. Headaches, sleeplessness, and difficulty concentrating on one’s responsibilities are often the result of merimnaō taking over someone’s life.
We all have responsibilities and “weights” to carry. Scripture doesn’t say that we have no concerns, but rather emphasizes that the things which we are to care for do not grow to dominate all our focus and energy to the neglect of all our other “cares.” The old adage carries a load of wisdom, if you count your cares they’re sure to grow. The Psalms show us that when our cares come to weigh us down, burdening us with their load, we ought to cast them upon God (Ps. 37:5).
When faced with the weight and paralysis which anxiety brings, you must first turn to the simple wisdom of Christ: worrying never made anybody taller (Mt. 6:27). Scripture admonishes us to set our mind on things above, not on earthly things (Col. 3:2), which means that although we have responsibilities to take care of, our primary focus should not be our cares, but upon God. He tends to our needs by upholding us each and every day, and we should walk with a “care-free” disposition trusting him to supply all our needs. This doesn’t mean we do nothing, but rather that we actively work to do our duty, trusting God through it all to protect and provide for us.
A very simple strategy for beginning to deal with anxiety is simply to take a page and begin to list things for which to be grateful, followed by ways in which God has provided and protected in times past. The simple exercise of “looking back” at God’s prior faithfulness emboldens us to face todays trials and troubles. It is easier to number up your worries and think they are innumerable, because they multiply like vermin. But when you begin to look, really look, at tall of God’s kindness to you, your worries all begin to melt away like wax. Like the hymn says, “What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms.”
Most folks enjoy their ruts. They find a way of doing things, and that’s the way it should be done. But occasionally, along comes some technological innovation, or some brilliant genius. The way you’ve always done things is suddenly upended, and you can’t imagine ever doing it the old way again. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection was the epitome of completely changing how to do things. Christian marriage, then, should have a similar effect. As people see your marriage, they should be left scratching their heads going, “I’ve never seen it done this way before, but I want that.”
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. […] Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Colossians 3:12-13;18-19
Unity in human society is impossible without Christ’s atonement. The people of God are to wear the uniform (v12); the uniform is Christ and His righteousness. We must note the flow of Paul’s thought. Your affections must rest in Christ on high (3:1-4). You must fight to the death against evil desires and deeds, and put off all the rowdiness of the sinful nature (3:5-8). That is who you once were, but you aren’t that now.
You are chosen, beloved, and holy. This in turn leads to a particular way of doing things; a way that is profoundly counter cultural to every culture not built on Christ. This looks like large-heartedness. Kindness. Humility. Meekness. You have a long fuse (v12). Along with this comes a clear cut way of dealing with violations of this holy way of living: forbearance or forgiveness (v13). Covering or confronting. All of this is to be done in imitation of the Love of God (v13b-17). This is how true community is formed. God, in Christ, has forgiven you, so you forgive others. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who are indebted to us.
Nevertheless, a besetting sin of Christians is thinking that we could be very holy if it weren’t for all the people. So, Paul locates the playing field for us. This Christ-like way of doing things should be seen first and foremost in the life of a Christian marriage. Wives are to array themselves under their own husbands, for it is fitting (v18, Cf. v17). Husbands are to love their wives, without harboring or causing bitterness (v19).
It shouldn’t escape your notice that Paul’s instruction for wives & husbands is in the context of this “new way of being human” in Christ. The patience, humility, and sacrificial love described are not just nice plays drawn up on the chalkboard. This play is to be executed “in game”.
But where are wives & husbands most likely to be tested in their endeavor to be Christlike but in the failures of their spouse? It is easy to be sweet, kind, and cheerful when everything is sunny. But what about when she’s doesn’t obey her husband’s decision? Or when he thoughtlessly neglects to tell her he’ll be home late from work? When she does an end-around on her husband, getting the in-laws to take her side? When he gets cranky about sexual regularity?
This is why, in order for a marriage to go the distance, both husband & wife must put on Christ. They must imitate His forgiveness towards them in their forgiveness to each other. This won’t be easy. Without divine grace, you will be unable to give grace.
A husband who doesn’t love his wife well, or a wife who routinely disregards her husband’s authority will provoke the other to fill up the relational garage with boxes full of aired (and unaired) grievances. Things get really bad when his box ends up on her side of the garage. But where will a wife need to most likely extend forgiveness but when her husband fails to provide the love he ought? Where will a husband most need to forgive but where she runs roughshod over him?
So, Paul’s command to Christians in general, and then applying it more directly to married couples, rings loud and clear: forbear or forgive. Let it slide, or confess/confront it. Either way, you aren’t ignoring the sin or offense, you are dealing with it as Christ commands. You must not, however, wait until your relational garage could be featured on an episode of Hoarders. Keep it tidy, don’t let grievances pile up.
This “live differently” project must be spearheaded by husbands. Husbands should be a bonfire of joy in the midst of their home. Husbands, you set the tone. You provide the warmth. You are your home’s brightness. The family should want to gather around you, not because you are such a narcissist, but because you are a bonfire of joy in Christ and joy in them. This means more than just “be there.” It means “be there, and be joyful.”
James warns that ungodly ruckuses begin through wrong desires, disordered affections (Jas. 4:1-10). We see this in toddlers, and then pretend we adults are too advanced for such petty rivalry. But husbands, your wife is not your competitor, she is your helper. You aren’t in a mad dash to gather up more scraps of gratification than your spouse, but you are to increase the joy in the home. Don’t view joy in your marriage as a zero-sum game.
So then husbands, you lay down your life, that by God’s grace He might raise you up into greater glory. You work your tail off in sacrificial toil, while humming a joyful tune through it all. You bring the irrepressible joy, and your wife will gladly crown that joy.
Now, it almost goes without saying, but the greatest arenas of provocation in marriage usually center around a small group of issues. Like clockwork, marriage issues arise around in-laws, money, intimacy, and child-rearing. In a majority of instances, conflict can usually be avoided entirely or at least minimized through the kindness that is clear communication.
Write it down. Explain to the in-laws where the boundaries are. Put it on the schedule. Implement a solid budgeting tool. Get on the same page regarding discipline and child-rearing issues. Too many couples assume their spouse is a mind-reader. Then are disappointed when they discover this isn’t the case. But in all these areas, it will take mutual forbearance (and forgiveness) to work through the presenting challenges. Again, much of it can be relieved by interacting with clear lines (writing it down, scheduling, frank conversations), instead of vague shrugs or telepathy.
Many couples are wonderful people to their friends, co-workers, and colleagues. But when it comes to their marriage they are constantly aggravated and aggravating. Christ’s way of doing things should be jaw-dropping to the world around us. You once walked this way, but now you have put off the evil scheme of rivalry (Col. 3:7-8). Or as Paul says in another place, “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11).”
Christ bears with your many failures, sins, flaws, and faults. He does not treat you as you deserve. But this doesn’t mean He doesn’t deal with your sin. He has made a way for you to be finally and fully forgiven. Not only that, but His Spirit is at work in you to subdue all remaining corruption. Look to Him, and then do as you’d be done by.
There are two ways of living in this world. One is Gollum’s way, grasping, pawing, scheming, clutching to “your precious.” Me wants it. The other is to be like Christ. You died, and your life is hid with God. One is a clenched fist, the other is an open hand of blessing. Christ calls you to imitate Him in your dealings with others. And, lest you puff yourself up with imagined visions of being a great philanthropist, Paul tells you…start with your wife, start with your husband, start with your kids.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. Amen. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Our God isn’t an aloof Father. He didn’t create & then forsake His creation. This world hasn’t bored Him, and now He’s moved on to other projects. Rather, He upholds creation by His Word. He’s present at every turn. He’s the inescapable Fact. He’s there in the ocean depths & mountain heights.
Baptism is given to us as a gift & blessing to underscore God’s omnipresence in a profoundly personal way. While He’s present everywhere, and at all times, these waters assure you that He’s present with you. Or as the confession reminds us: you belong, body & soul, in life & death, to your faithful God & Savior.
You are brought into true fellowship with God the Father, by baptism into the life, death, & resurrection of His Son. Christ the divine comes near to us in this sign, and by His humanity sympathizes with our plight. And so the God who made & fills Heaven & Earth, comes to dwell in us.
So welcome our sister & brothers to Jesus Christ…
Waiting for something good is a strange mixture of pain & pleasure. It’s agony mixed with expectancy. Christmas morning. A brisket. A bonus check. The wedding day. The birth of a child. The Eternal God placed us in time, which necessarily means waiting. This is poignantly true for engaged couples longing for their wedding day, or a single hoping for a good mate. But marriage isn’t the destination, it’s a waypoint. God wants to teach us to both rejoice in contentment for current blessings, while faithfully awaiting future glories.
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.
1 Peter 3:7
Peter has instructed wives to sweetly submit to their husbands. Doing so may win even unbelieving husbands to the faith (1 Pt. 3:1-2 ). How much more of a blessing this will be to a believing husband? A wife’s manner of meekness & quietness is of great price & very precious in God’s sight (1 Pt. 3:3-4). Holy women of old set a wonderful example for godly women in all ages: their trust in God was manifested by obedience to their own husbands. A godly woman is to be fearless & faithful in good works (1 Pt. 3:5-6).
Peter then turns his attention to husbands, and admonishes them to not be blockheads. The wife’s duty of submission should be sweetened by an ocean of her husband’s love & wisdom. He is to be continually present. He is to be prudent. He is to enthrone her with honor. He shouldn’t think of her like camping gear; she’s fine china. Of utmost importance, they are heirs together of the grace of life.
Paul warned (Cf. 1 Cor. 7:32-35) that marriage could become an impediment to religious service, if gone about with mindless carnality. Here Peter doesn’t contradict that warning, but instead affirms & clarifies it. If a husband & wife dwell together rightly the prayers they offer (whether separately, jointly, or with the congregation) won’t be hindered.
Strife and division is strictly forbidden (Jas. 3:14), and called an abomination (Pro. 6:19). How much more in the sanctuary of marriage should there be unity? The squabbling & fights that fill many marriages is a clear impediment to prayer. It’s hard to sincerely worship God when you just ripped into your spouse with a string of nasty complaints or curses.
This text also serves as an inoculation against the rampant individualism of our culture. A husband & wife are heirs together. Of course, your marital status doesn’t determine your justification. But if you are married, your union with your spouse is impacted by being joint-heirs of grace (Cf. 3:1-2, 1 Cor. 7:14).
The danger for many husbands is to come to love the idea of your wife. Loving the idea of your wife leads to a simmering resentment. She’s not living up to some ideal you’ve concocted in your imagination, and so you become a muttering grump of a husband. Distant, dissatisfied, and dishonoring to your wife. Crushing her, instead of lifting her up. In a word, the opposite of Peter’s instruction.
In one place, Paul taught, “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them (Col. 3:19).” This is a more succinct version of Peter’s teaching. Husbands, you must love this woman who has cast her entire life into your hands, for better or for worse. Paul’s warning is an intriguing one. Some render it as do not be harsh, others render it as not to be bitter against the wife. The traffic flows both ways here. Say he’s a grumble-muffin towards his wife, his presence fills the house with too much bleach, becoming a cause of bitterness in her. He is to both refrain from being bitter, and being a cause for bitterness. He is to not be harsh, nor harbor harsh thoughts towards his wife.
Substituting loving your wife, with loving an idol in the shape of your wife will inevitably lead to ungodly anger. Angry husbands (particularly if they are Christians) can get quite clever in the way they express or hide their anger. Don’t pride yourself that you’ve become more clever at hiding your anger or frustration at your wife. Rather, expunge that anger at the first sign. Love her. Draw her into your life. Cherish her, and dignify her by bringing her to stand by your side through thick and thin. She’s your glory.
This leads to address what many wives commonly misconstrue. Particularly in our feminist age. To admonish husbands in the above way, is not to absolve women of any duty to grow in grace & glory. But rather it is to highlight that as a husband surrounds his wife with houses & bank accounts & cupboards & cribs filled with his manifested love, she is to become a fruitful vine in this greenhouse of his love. The temptation for many women is to nit-pick their husband, criticize how he leads, question his every move, and spend her attention on matters outside her household.
To quote a pastor of a previous era, a wife who embraces Scripture’s teaching on what a godly wife is, is nothing short of a queen & a crown to her household: “Her spirit gives the home its atmosphere. Her hands fashion its beauty. Her heart makes its love. And the end is so worthy, so noble, so divine, that no woman who has been called to be a wife, and has listened to the call, should consider any price too great to pay, to be the light, the joy, the blessing, the inspiration of a home (J.R. Miller).”
A wife has the capacity to inspire her husband to be greater than he’d ever imagined, achieve more than he ever thought, and grow beyond his largest hopes. Or she can tear it all down (Pro. 14:1). A husband must build a bulwark of love around his wife, and she should fill that castle with glory, peace, and joy. Wives, make it your aim to regularly adopt JR Miller’s advice and, “Whisper a new word of courage to his heart.”
The splendor of marriage is such that Christians have been tempted to turn it into a sacrament. Some interpret the Apostle Peter’s words here as ground for such a view. But Christ isn’t imparted or administered to us in marriage. Rather, He is displayed. He’s showcased as a couple walk in the Spirit’s unity. To be an heir requires long-suffering. Waiting. In Baptism & the Supper we truly receive Christ. In marriage we’re taught to long for the fullness of our inheritance. Husbands & wives you either partake of these things in a wonderful and unique togetherness, or else invite the curses of grace received in vain.
God, in Christ, has made you a partaker of His divine nature. Christ has received all things as His inheritance, and He has given you the Spirit. The Spirit leads you into all truth. He takes from Christ and gives to you. This is so you can give thanks for past faithfulnesses, walk uprightly in this present moment, and long with evangelical faith for the High Countries.
Christ is central to your marriage. An unbelieving couple can get married, but their marriage doesn’t enjoy the grace of life. A Christian married to an unbeliever enjoys God’s grace to them, and may eventually win their spouse through a godly example. But a Christian couple partake of both earthly joys even while waiting to taste eternal joys.
Husbands, find multiple ways in the coming days to make your love abundantly known to your wife. Loved women are lovely. Wives, seek to make known your respect and admiration for your husband in the coming weeks. Respected men are respectable. And do this, not because “well, the preacher told us to,” but because Christ commands this in His Word. This is for His glory.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14
