tmeiers

Wives Changing Husbands
Now we turn to the wife's desire for her husband's change. This
chapter is not about what headship and submission are. But to
make clear what I  am  saying  about  how  we  help  each  other
change,  I  have  to  touch on  what headship  and  submission  are
not.  I have  already  said that  a husband's  headship  is  not
identical  to  Christ's  headship.  It  is  like  it. Similarly, therefore,
the wife's submission to the husband is not identi-cal to her
submission to Christ. It is like it.
When Ephesians 5:22 says, "Wives, submit to your own
husbands, as to the Lord," the word as does not mean that Christ
and the husband are the same. Christ is supreme; the husband is
not. Her allegiance is first to Christ, not first to her husband.
The analogy only works if the woman  submits  to  Christ
absolutely,  not  to  the  husband  absolutely. Then she will be in a
position to submit to the husband without com-mitting treason
or idolatry.
What this implies is that a wife will see the need for change in her
husband. He is not perfect like Christ is. He is flawed.
Therefore, the wife  may  and  should  seek  the  transformation  of
her  husband,  even while respecting him as her head—her leader,
protector, and provider. There are several other reasons I say this.
The Analogy of Prayer
One reason is the function of prayer in the relationship between
Christ and his church. A wife relates to her husband the way the
church should relate  to  Christ. The  church  prays  to  Christ—or
to  God  the  Father through Christ. When the church prays to
her Husband, she asks him to do things a certain way. If we are
sick, we ask him for healing. If we are hungry, we ask for our
daily bread. If we are lost, we ask for direc-tion.