THE DIFFERENT FACES OF

InSpired

SARAH OBRYED HER HUSBAND TO HRR PERIL.

We have heard of unconditional love. Film Houses ranked in millions dollars yearly from movies which preach and emphasise unconditional love in marraiges but there is little  emphasis is placed on unconditional submission. 

Unconditional submission is the respect and honour a believer has for God and His Word even if it seem that life situations dictates that God does not deserve it.

It is this unconditional honour, respect and reverence a wife must have for her husband even if he does not earn and deserve it.

God must be the Source of every successful Christian marraige. Even in ancient times and present generations, the principles stated by the Bible for happy marraiges are the main ingredients used by couples in successful marraige in non -Christian homes. A research confirmed this fact.

African traditional wives and mothers had deep reverence for their husbands. They honoured their husbands as kings in their homes. 

While we may have some  homes which runs on the platform of dreadful fear, most African homes were operated by care and honour. The wife respect and speak to her husband with honour and the husband in turn care for the family.

Sarah was such a woman who treated her husband with respect. She respected the opinion and request of her husband to her peril.  God had to arise and intervene on her behalf, when such honour was to bring her disgrace.

Abraham;  her husband told her to emphasis to Pharaoah and Abimelech, the  family blood relationship between them to save his life. Abraham at that moment of weakness thought he was responsible to keep his life safe. He forgot that God has the responsibility of keeping his life and that of his family safe. So he told Sarah to tell Abimelech and Pharaoh that she was his sister.

Sarah was truly Abraham's sister because she was his step- sister. Sarah as a woman had to deny her dignity as the wife and take the position of a sister to preserve her marraige.

Philippians 2 and Ephesians 5 advocate that believers must submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. We don't honour and respect each other because the other party deserves it rather it is unconditional submission and unconditional love.

Sarah obeyed the voice of her husband at that moment though Abraham did not deserve it. Abraham  asked her to deny her role as his wife and exploited her role as his sister.

I am sure that Sarah would have found this request repulsive and inconvenient;   It would have made her unhappy.  She must have struggled with the fear  that another man even a king would separate her from the love of her husband.

 But Sarah overlooked all the inconveniences, the hurt and submitted to honour the request of her  husband.  She obeyed because her SUBMISSION WAS UNCONDITIONAL and she loved her husband and her brother enough to want to accommodate his fear.

This is the crux of the Christian relationship with God, the Father and Christ, our LORD. The Bible says the wife should submit to her husband as the Church ( believers)  submit to Christ.

God told Abraham to leave his father's house and kindred to a place that is unknown. Abarahm had no road map; God did not even describe the the outlook of the City but Abraham stepped out in faith because God said So. 

This is a practical demonstration of how the believer should submit to Christ; and it is the same stardard of submission and honour that the Word of God requires that every Christian woman have for their husbands. 

Unconditional respect and honour that is based on the instructions of God and not because the husband deserves It or not.

IMPORTANT CAUTION.

The wisdom of the Holy Spirit is needed  in Christian homes. The wife must depend on the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit in peculiar  issues in their peculiar marraiges. 

No two marriages are the same because the personalities of the persons involved in the marraiges are different therefore the methods of applying the principles of Care and honour may be differ from in Christian homes.

Abraham did not asked Sarah to lie that she was his sister. Sarah was Abraham's half sister, he only asked her to exposed the fact that she was his sister and not make known the truth that she was his wife.

A true Christian man should never asked his wife to do contrary to the scriptures even in the face of danger. We must always trust that our heavenly Father will protect us from all dangers by the help of His Spirit and angels in Jesus name.

TO BE CONTINUED.

A. L. Hephzibah