God’s plan will not lead me, where His grace cannot sustain me. In order to love my wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25), I must love with a heart of self-sacrifice rather than self-preservation. My job is to love my family well, and lead them toward Christ. Christ’s job is to be my strength and my defense as I follow Him.
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Scripture
Genesis 12:10-13
10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”
Observation
Abraham was quick to abdicate his God-given responsibility in his home and marriage in an effort of self-preservation. Not only did this undoubtedly damage his marriage relationship, it also caused damage to the entire community around him. He failed to believe that the same God who had blessed him with a wife, would also give him the strength, wisdom, and divine protection to fulfill his responsibility to his wife.
Application
Our world can be a risky place for men. Society has (rightfully) pushed back on toxic and unhealthy cultural norms from times past, but the pendulum seems to have now swung far the other direction–where many men have become hesitant to be who God created them to be, and to live and lead as God has called them. The societal price can be severe–either give in to the humanistic values and norms of modern culture…or pay the price of mockery, shaming, baseless accusations, and condemnation from the rabid mob.
Yet God’s plan will not lead me, where His grace cannot sustain me. In order to love my wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25), I must love with a heart of self-sacrifice rather than self-preservation. My job is to love my family well, and lead them toward Christ. Christ’s job is to be my strength and my defense as I follow Him.
Ultimately, I will not answer to society but rather to God himself for the way that I live and lead–and when that time comes, I want to hear Him say “Well done!”
Prayer
God, help me to love and lead my family well…not with a heart of self-preservation, but rather of self-sacrifice. Give me wisdom to follow you, and strength to persevere through every challenge. I want to receive your approval, not the temporary applause of this broken world.
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