Andrew Warnock issued
a challenge to the "intrepid bloggers" out there. Here are my musings . . .
Whenever I hear people discuss submission, humility and servanthood, I always think of Psalty's Praise 4 with "Charity Church Mouse" who sings "If you want to be great in God's kingdom, learn to be the servant of all." That song for some reason has echoed throughout my life, even in periods of rebellion, doubt and despair. The times when I am somehow wrested free from self-preoccupation and awakened to needs of those around me bring a pure joy and freedom, an amazing feeling that I could have done nothing greater to please my Savior. Recently I heard a well-traveled speaker comment that she felt far closer to the heart of God sitting among, holding and reading to a group of Liberian poverty-stricken orphans than she ever had teaching or writing. There does indeed seem a special "look" of favor and blessing upon those who have been humbled to serve the Lord and others according to His Word (Is. 66:2).
I often hear Christians say that if we humble ourselves for the expectation of a reward, then we have not truly humbled ourselves; it is somehow impure even though reward is promised (Matt. 23:11-12). We are somehow supposed to forget the reward in the moment of humble service. I have also heard John Piper call that blasphemy. If Christ endured the cross for the joy set before him, is it not blasphemy to suppose that I could do better than Christ? That I could suffer humiliation without doing it for the hope of reward set before me?
As a woman, I was made in the image of God with man (Gen. 1:27). The image of God is incomplete without both genders of the human race. If 'man' alone bore God's image and yet it was not good for man to be alone, and how could the image of God be anything not good (2:18)? But "in the image of God He created him; male and female." Adam cried of Eve, "This is bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh." (2:23) Man is prior, just as the Father is prior to the Son and the Spirit who proceeds from Him, and yet just as within the trinity, male and female are also one in bearing the image of God. Both the unity and hierarchical order were part of the perfect creation before the fall.
The deception of woman and the sin of man brought about the fall of all humanity and creation, causing woman to resent the order in which she had been made. Order became an issue of resentment, pride, power and rule rather than community, fellowship and reflection of the image of God. The introduction of sin and depravity, of corruption and deception, has brought all kinds of confusion, pain and evil into societal relationship. A confusion which we will not wholly escape until we see the Lord return in glory to set all things aright. The doctrines of deserved condemnation and submission perhaps require the most grace and spiritual discernment to receive and understand. I see the "carnal man" in our modern culture (both in others and in myself) strongly resist these two teachings of scripture.
Submission in the home and in the church is not a matter of law, of discerning and delineating certain codes of conduct to follow, of crusading to make sure that no woman technically "teaches" in any kind of church capacity. The law has been fulfilled and its bonds have been loosed from us. Submission becomes a matter of "spirit and truth". Was it right when Deborah led Israel as a judge and to war? Perhaps not in God's original ideal order of things, but when no other man would gird up his loins in leadership, she was justified and blessed with success, though to the shame of Barak. We do well when obsess not with the actions of our neighbor, but look to our own spirit to see if we lead by being a servant, if we demonstrate righteousness to the lost through our Christ-like humility. Is a woman as likely to resist the teaching of submission and male headship if those men who represent it follow Philippians 2:3, demonstrating to her that they regard her as more important than themselves? The doctrine then becomes adorned, not with power play and rule, but with love and healing.
As I have come to better know my humble, glorious Savior, I understand more deeply the truth that "it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." (1 Tim. 2:14) I see and understand that in the way my Creator formed me, my own emotional-relational make up leaves me as weaker prey to deception. Indeed, I have even become deeply grateful for this way in which I was formed, as well as for the hedge of protection my husband provides me with. I am grateful for the strength and blessings that come from my relational sensitivity, and grateful for the ways in which my husband keeps me from deception or from being exploited. I find freedom to be what I am, to use my strengths, and freedom from the vulnerability I would have without his loving headship. I am blessed to experience part of the godly partnership exemplified by Priscilla and Aquila whose ministry was so united in the image of man before the fall that they are usually mentioned within the same breath.
Not all women need to be married (1 Cor. 7). Not all women need to be at home raising children. There is no law for such things. Yet I long for women to be freed from the prison of seeing home life and motherhood as dull and tedious, as confinement and limitation. Indeed, my main blog is devoted entirely to this longing. Titus 2, "encourage the young women to love their husbands to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home," provides me with inspiration and hope. Henri Nouwen writes, "When we say 'I wish I were home' we express a longing for that intimate place that offers us a sense of belonging. Even though may people suffer much from conflicts at home, . . . the word 'home' continues to carry with it a warm love and remains one of the most evocative symbols for happiness. The Christian faith even calls us to experience life as 'going home' and death as 'coming home at last'." I aspire to be as Lois and Eunice, providing a home and upbringing that creates sincere faith in my children and in all those whom I invite within its walls. This is a wonderful, rich, creative, never-dull calling and I pray that by teaching the truths of submission, headship and family not with law but with love, graciousness, humility and joy that we as a church might reverse this century's general, assumed disdain and belittling of the inescapably primary role of women - homemaker.
My genuine compassion and empathetic grief goes out to women who suffer under the headship of cruel, arrogant, cold, or otherwise very difficult men. Submission becomes a bitter pill indeed to those placed beneath abusive, unloving headship. Whether women, children or 'slaves', all those who encounter the teaching of submission in sin-filled circumstance face a difficulty much greater than I have yet known. And here I refer to the clarification of Piper mentioned before. I cannot pretend to imagine the pain and hurt experienced by those ruled with an intimate iron hand, but I know the promises of my Lord and I know that He is faithful. I know that when He promises that the humiliation of discipleship on earth will be followed with indescribable exaltation, it is true. I know that when He shocks us by saying that it is better to serve, that He speaks truth. I know that when He cries, blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the gentle, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for they will inherit a blessing too great to understand, I know that we can live by these promises. I know that He is mighty enough to sustain us and even cause us to "rejoice and be glad."
Submission is not easy, for man, woman or child, and we will fail in it if we seek to teach it and follow it out of duty. We submit to authorities and to one another not because it is our duty but because it is our hope and we pray the the Spirit will strengthen us and fill us with "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; for against such things there is not law." (Gal. 5:22-23)
