Thoughts on Marriage: love, submission, and obedience.

The speaker that we saw on Friday made another statement about marriage that I thought was worth sharing. He said something that I've been thinking over the last few days, and something that I have seen to be true in a lot of cases.  The speaker, Adrianne Despres, made these three statements:

1. "I can tell what a man thinks about Jesus by the way he loves and treats his wife."

2. "I can tell what a wife thinks about Jesus by the way she submits to her husband."

3. "and I can tell what a teenager thinks about Jesus by the way he or she obeys their parents"

I'm not going to share any further thoughts on this, except that I found it very interesting.  It raises a lot of questions and probably hit(s) a few hot buttons. For example, what comes first, a loving husband or a submissive wife?  and what does submission really mean? and what if my parents/husband/wife are horrible?  I've also included scripture verses to support each of the statements, found below.   

1. "I can tell what a man thinks about Jesus by the way he loves and treats his wife."

^{Ephesians 5:5} Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing^[b] her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”^[c] 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Colossians 3:19 "Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them"

2. "I can tell what a wife thinks about Jesus by the way she submits to her husband."

^{1 Peter 3:1} Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, ² when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. ⁵ For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, ⁶ like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.) 


Colossians 3:¹⁸ Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.


^{Ephesians 5:22} Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

3. "and I can tell what a teenager thinks about Jesus by the way he or she obeys their parents"

Ephesians 6: ¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— ³ “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Colossians 3:²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.