THURSDAY - October 8

Read. Colossians 3:18-21
18 Wives, submit to your husbands in a way that is appropriate in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and don’t be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, because this pleases the Lord. 21 Parents, don’t provoke your children in a way that ends up discouraging them.

Reflect. Too often, both men and women get stuck on verse 18, one of the most often misinterpreted and abused verses Paul ever wrote. We get a clearer sense of what he meant from a parallel in Ephesians 5:21, where he said “Submit to one another” before specifically speaking to wives and husbands. Verses 19 and 21 may sound mundane to us, but were revolutionary in a world where most pagan moralists lectured women and children on how to behave, with no related duties for husbands and parents.
• Paul’s command to husbands was “Husbands, love your wives and don’t be harsh with
them.” In the Bible, “love” referred to a chosen set of attitudes and actions, not just an
emotional state. How does this show that Paul did not intend to “let husbands off easy”? (In Ephesians 5:25, he got even more explicit: “Husbands, love your wives just like Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.”) In what ways have you seen mutual submission strengthen loving relationships?

• In Paul’s day, the Greek, Roman and Hebrew legal codes all gave parents virtually unlimited power over their children. How did Paul’s vision of family life lived under God’s principles emphasize mutual respect and caring, rather than a one-sided, tyrannical relationship? How can you, as a parent or a child, live out the principles of verses 20-21?

Pray. Heavenly Father, you came in Jesus to win my heart, not to harshly order me around. Help me learn from you how to live that way in all of the relationships that matter most to me. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST


Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk.  Mary Reber.  Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh.

Acknowledgement:
Our current teaching series, The Power of Words, was adapted from a series developed by our partners at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and used with permission. Many of the resources and graphics are provided by our partners. During this series, our Read.Reflect.Pray guide publishes the daily devotional guide (called Grow, Pray, Study) from our partners with minor adaptation.