Does Your Definition of Reverence Include This?

Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Apostle Paul addresses Christian relationships in the family. He now commences his explanation of family roles and how spouses should relate. His opening remarks in this pericope in the letter to Ephesians shutters all customs. He states that couples should submit to each other. Submission is not just a women’s thing to men, just like love is not just a man’s thing to women. Love one another. Submit to each other.

However, what catches our attention is that the submission to each other is an act of reverence for Christ. Who knew that reverence for God included how we treat our spouse? Who knew that reverence for God included the quality of our relationships with others? That when a couple relates properly, they are reverent to Christ. The opposite is therefore true, that a couple in a permanent state of war is an irreverent couple and has no respect for God. Does your definition of reverence include this?

Your spouse may not deserve good treatment but out of reverence for Christ you give a good treat. Out of reverence for Christ, you forgive your spouse. Out of reverence for Christ you give your spouse a second chance. Out of reverence for Christ you bear with the shortcomings of your spouse. This is reverence for God. Does your definition of reverence include this?

Submitting to one another means you make compromises to accommodate each other so that each one is comfortable. What compromises have you made to make your partner comfortable? If you do not make adjustments for your partner, you are irreverent. Each of you must make adjustments, it shouldn’t be one-sided. Even if you have rational and very good reasons why your partner and not you should change, you are wrong and irreverent. You could be outspoken, pushy and always having your way, but the Bible says, to submit to each other, it must be balanced, both sides, therefore, you are in your rational righteousness, still irreverent and defying God. You are only reverent when the submission to each other is balanced. Does your definition of reverence include this?

Submit suggests that when you are under pressure, you surrender to your partner. You submit to each other. You open up and surrender to the will of your partner to the extent to which it doesn’t defy the will of God. Under the pressure of relationships, you don’t rush to friends and family, you submit to your partner and seek a solution together. Under extreme circumstances, it is advisable to seek help from friends, relatives, experts, religious leaders, etc. That is an exception, but the routine and regular are to turn to each other and seek internal help, by submitting to each other. That is reverence for Christ. Does your definition of reverence include this?

May my definition of reverence include the quality of my relationship with my spouse and others, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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