Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 5:21-33, 6:1-9 (day six)
“be subject to one another in the fear of Christ”–v. 21. Submission is a lightning-rod issue in this age. People (all of us, not just women) resist the loss of autonomy and self-determination that it implies. Demanding our rights (and feeling entitled to do so) blinds us to the wisdom of this eg0-displacing step. Those who submit to Christ and are subsequently filled with His Spirit (rather than self–see v. 18) find freedom. NO PRISON is worse than self! “There is nothing so pathetic as a person determined to be crucified on the cross of personal grievance”–Abraham Lincoln. And, NO FREEDOM is sweeter than to serve God and others without competition or anxiety. When Paul speaks about family (wives submit to your husbands, husbands love your wives, children obey your parents) he assumes we already have some experience of this “more excellent way”. Ego is not my savior. It is, very often, a trouble causing tyrant.
