Teamwork

"Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." 1 Corinthians 11:3

I must have read this Bible verse hundreds of times. In the past, every time I read it, in my mind it confirmed that, at least to me, Andy was the head of our household. That in matters of utmost importance, I would rely on his leadership and relationship with God to make the right decisions for our family. That was a hard one for me drill into my head too, I've always been a stubborn, strong-willed person, and it was hard to not be the one who was always right in a sense.

But yesterday, I read this verse and it was like looking at an onion. A layer peeled back and I saw a whole new layer underneath. I got so excited! Because this verse has always been the same, and I know how I've seen it before, but this was different and exciting! Now, see it says right there in black and white (and in different versions) that the head of the woman is man. And it also says that the head of every man is Christ. Okay, good, we've got that. But then it says that the head of Christ is God. Okay, that makes sense... or does it...

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning. " John 1:1

Jesus was the Word, and here we read in John that Christ was with God, and then we see that Christ was God. We know this, we all know this! Even yesterday, my son randomly started singing a sweet little song about God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit- three in one.

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

If Christ and God are one and the same- two of God's pieces, how is it that right there in 1 Corinthians is says that God is the head of Christ? I don't think it's saying that, in a sense, God is the boss of Christ. I think that right here in these few words, that Paul is giving us a key to how our relationship as man and wife is supposed to be. And it's so much more than that,but for a minute I want to focus on the husband and wife relationship. Yes, my husband is at the head of our household, and ultimately, I suppose if it came down to something dire I would totally trust that he knows what God wants for us. Lately though, I've been thinking a lot about couples in the ministry. I think of our Pastor and his wife. Their relationship is not one of Pastor and Pastor's Wife, their relationship is that of Co-Pastors, because they are a team- they are united and one, and his wife jumped in full steam ahead with her husbands calling. I think of evangelists, more and more you hear of these men or women traveling and speaking with their spouses, and their spouses also join in their evangelising, taking on the task of their spouse, even though it was their spouse who may have been called in the first place.

"For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." 1 Corinthians 3:9 (KJV)

I don't think my role in life is to be the quiet, demure wife who acquiesces to every whim of her husband. I am not just meant to be the mother to my children who quietly stays in the background. Not that that role is a bad one, I want to be clear on that. I love being the mother (and teacher!) for my beautiful children. But I think that God doesn't just want us to sit back and take a backseat role to whatever our husband is called to do. I think that in this one brief mention in 1 Corinthians, that God is telling is that we are a team, that whatever my husband is called to do, I am too, and that I should not be afraid to be bold. Just as God is the head of Christ, my husband is the head of me. We are two parts of a team, a three member team of husband, wife and God. We each have a special and meaningful place in our relationship with God, but neither one of us is more important than the other. Jesus is not more important than the Holy Spirit, and vice versa. In the same way, my husband is not more important than me. Different, yes, but together, we can do amazing things for the Kingdom of Heaven.

And with that, I'm not sure I'm going to be blogging the next few days. I may try, I may not. But tonight we kick off a conference and will be spending lots of time in His Presence. We're really looking forward to it, but there won't be much time for anything else. So we'll see how things go over the next few days. Worse comes to worse, I'll take a little break and be back Monday morning.