Some of us have issues with 1 Peter's description of marriage, don't we? Of course, we must remember that in the time Scripture was written, marriage was a different thing than it is in our society.
But, this doesn't mean these texts have no truths to speak to us today. So, what is the truth here?
The truth is that marriage is a covenanted relationship between two individuals. And the two individuals, like Christ, promise to live out a sacrificial love. And this love requires stances that are not popular in our culture: submission, obedience, and sacrifice.
Yes, these texts have been used as instruments of abuse by suggesting that one partner in a marriage (traditionally, it has been the wife) is somehow "less than" the other. But, in the context of the entirety of Scripture, in the context of what Jesus says and does in Scripture, no reasonable student of Scripture could hold this evil sentiment as truth.
In Christ there is no male or female; there is only a child of God. All are to be equally valued and all are equally worthy.
Somehow, we have so twisted up things to make these words: submission, obedience, and sacrifice---into words of weakness. We have become so caught up in our individualistic rights that we dismiss the notion that we live and act for the common good, not simply our own good.
As Christians, Jesus is our ideal---our compass----our Way. Jesus submitted; Jesus obeyed; Jesus sacrificed.
These texts that are difficult for us to swallow are the very texts with which we must wrestle and question instead of dismissing. Today we are called to consider: how do we lay down our lives for another?
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