Everyday Faith
By Patrick Roberts
Suppose I wanted to honor my wife, and give her my best. Should
I put my hands to work, staying long hours at my job until all
my energy and time were consumed so I could buy her nice things?
Is this the best thing I could do for her from God's
perspective? Sadly, most husbands, being Godless, will never get
it past their thick skulls that this kind of thinking is a
self-defeating rut, destroying the very goal of providing for
their wives that they claimed to be seeking in the first place.
I refer to the quality of a husband's heart as he loves his wife
to illustrate this general rule, that Godlessness has a
disastrous effect on every meaningful aspect of life. It is a
trustworthy statement that genuine love, dedication and any
admirable quality proceeds out of the underlying state of a
person's heart.
A worldly husband might stretch his mind so far as to save up
all his extra income so he could buy his wife jewelry or an
impressive luxury car or maybe a fabulous cruise for two. Such a
gift would no doubt seem impressive to outsiders such as her
lady friends and coworkers. Yet, tragically, this same worldly
husband, who supposedly thought so highly of his wife, might not
think it shameful to admire someone else's wife on his way to
the car dealership or the travel agency. Such is the stupefying
nature of this illness called sin, that it would justify a man,
in his own mind, to covet the same saleswoman who sold him his
fiancé's engagement ring. So it goes that, apart from God,
natural men are oblivious to true value.
What good are all the riches in the world to a wife when her
husband's heart is still far from her? All the shiny anniversary
gifts in the world from a cold, unloving husband are less than
worthless to that man's wife.
Therefore husbands are wiser for neglecting worldly things in
order to spend more time, energy and attention on their wives
directly. It is impossible for a husband to love his wife
indirectly via the nice things he buys her. And he does well in
God's sight to place all worldly estimations of marital success
in their rightful, negligible place in order to seek out Christ
with his wife first of all.
A plant needs water, sunshine and a good soil to live and grow.
Any commonsensical person would admit that the gardener who
spray-paints his dying plants to make them look alive is a fool,
especially when that gardener should know better, especially
when the watering can sits nearby. In fact, he is not a gardener
at all who considers a plastic, pseudo-healthy appearance
acceptable over the real, living thing. It would be a similar
waste of time to dedicate one's life to caring for a vast garden
made up of only plastic plants. So it is with marriage that God
designed it to contain more profound value than for making a
good outward show (this also applies to any other meaningful
gift from God).
Granted, couples can go through financially hard times, so that
it seems like there's no choice but to spend all their time
trying to make ends meet. But there's always a choice.
As for any Christ-seeking married people, the question is not
whether money allows something, the question is whether God
allows it. The poorest couple is not the one deprived of money.
The poorest couple is the one that lacks living roots of faith
in Christ. Married people are better off seeking Christ before
they worry about any worldly concern because, this way, they
will be storing up heavenly riches in Him that can never fade
away or be stolen.
A couple could not ask for a more powerful marriage than one
that is consumed with Christ, striving by His Spirit toward
God's kingdom on earth. And this is also a truly priceless
commodity, that two people might be one in Christ's name.
In an unimaginably significant way, Christ outsmarts otherwise
hopeless men by imprinting Himself directly onto their hearts
and convictions. He imparts to each one of them His own,
perfectly consistent love for God, obedience to the Spirit and
desire for purity. He implants in His followers a refined set of
desires and affections, which stay solid and determined,
independent of any circumstance, even when no one is watching.
Therefore, Christ enables husbands to honor their wives beyond
anything they could have imagined without Him. Men might
manufacture something that looks like decency, but
groundbreaking Godliness proceeds exclusively from the Spirit of
Christ.
When a man's heart is approved by God, he will naturally bless
the heart of his wife. And a husband who seeks Christ's counsel
is dipping into such a depth of heavenly riches that he will not
be able to avoid a joyful, successful marriage. This is
spiritual truth.
A Christ-following husband must be the very best kind of
husband, because he follows Christ's example, who loves His
church, His bride, to the uttermost, freely imparting to her the
depths of His divine love. In this way we have earthly marriage
as a point of reference, to remind us of the unspeakable
profundity of the church's heavenly marriage to Christ.
I catch a glimpse of Christ's love and then I ask myself, how
might such heavenly love look from me to my wife?
If any Christ-seeking husband wants to know how to honor his
wife in the most meaningful way possible, then he should ask
Christ. The same thing also goes for all Christ-followers
concerning every significant aspect of life.
A Godly husband might express appreciation for his wife in a
simple fashion, such as in an unassuming poem or a card. But
even the simplest gesture from the heart of a Godly man contains
unmistakable, otherworldly power. This man's efforts to honor
his wife, though modest in appearance, are backed by the
heavenly weight of an otherworldly, Spirit-led life. When a
Godly man sets out to love his wife, he has the endorsement of
Almighty God, who is pleased to encourage all aspects of that
man's virtuous living.
Therefore the main gift that a Godly husband gives his wife is
the fruit of a life devoted to the Lord. His Godliness manifests
itself in the form of unassuming purity, love and faithfulness.
Such is the heavenly quality of a Godly man's love that it lasts
throughout the day, even when no one is looking. This man's
loving devotion will last for a lifetime because it is grounded
in the rock-solid grace of God.
And a Christ-following husband also has the freedom to depend on
Christ for the fruition of his efforts, whether he is seeking,
listening or obeying. For this reason a Christ-seeking man
cannot resist being a successful husband in God's estimation.
God, in His wisdom, decided that a man makes a better husband by
maintaining a simple outlook on life, striving first of all in
ceaseless prayer, advancing in the Spirit only to the extent
that he surrenders to Christ. If this sounds extreme, then that
is exactly what kind of extremity is needed to offset the
Godless undercurrent driving this present generation.
Christ-following husbands and fathers also have this very useful
reality check for their thoughts and actions, which is a healthy
fear of God. Men might be able to hide from their loved ones for
a while, but they can't hide from God for even a moment.
Men didn't know how to deal with this fact on their own,
therefore God sent His Son to teach us the most productive and
practical way to fear Him.
I have heard certain short-sighted men sum up all their duties
as a father in how the bills get paid and food gets put on the
table. But the Spirit of Christ says that a lifetime of
whole-hearted dedication, patience, availability and
unconditional love are the best gifts a father could give his
family. Worldly men go through with their daily chores, thinking
that there is some virtue in doing work for work's sake. But a
man's true success, in God's eyes, springs from a life-consuming
obedience to Christ. In other words, putting food on the table
and paying the bills is at best an outcropping, or maybe an
afterthought, of a man's Christ-centered dedication.
Because Godly men make Christ the Head of their households,
therefore they and their whole families will enjoy a heavenly
sort of success all the time. God will honor such families by
using their everyday faith to accomplish His heavenly goals.
All of this is to encourage you, O reader, toward a more
thorough obedience to Christ, regardless what your
responsibilities are. I am not trying to say that we should
merely try harder not to screw up so much. But rather, instead
of focusing so much on ourselves, or anything else of this
world, God is calling His people to focus on His Son.
If you are in charge of anyone's well-being, then cry out to
God. Ask Him directly, "What's next?" for you and for your loved
ones. If you ask Him directly for teaching and guidance, then He
will teach and guide you directly.
We should be encouraged by God's wisdom, that He meets us at our
low places and works us up from there. It is not so much how
well we strive toward a place that is acceptable to God, but
rather it is Christ who lifts us up to a higher place than we
could have achieved on our own. This is all to Christ's glory
and not ours.
Though we start with nothing more than a life consumed by sin,
yet Christ works out a letting go of this life through total
death to our old selves. Death in Christ is the secret to a life
well-lived.
If I am a Christ-follower then I must eventually arrive at
certain life-consuming conclusions about every aspect of my
life, especially for such main things as loving my wife or
providing for my family. This means that, when I am 100%
surrendered to Christ, then I will be a 100% good husband and a
100% good father.
Patrick is an average Christ-seeker. His goal is to turn people
to Jesus Christ.
Find additional resources at
www.BooksByPatrick.com and www.KoGmedia.com
