Wholeness/Family of God?/#6a

Ruth 1:16 But Ruth said, “do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you: for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and YOUR GOD, MY GOD.”(NAS)

Romans 9:25-26 As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘My loved one’ who is not my loved one.” And, “It will happen in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called the sons of the living God.’”(NIV)

We are called into the Family of God. Ruth gives us the example of true love and service to God as a bride and handmaiden. Some translations quote Mary, the mother of Jesus as saying; “I am your handmaiden,” but in truth the word she said means slave. Nary was saying that what ever God wanted, she surrendered to. Jesus gave example time after time again of the relationship of God to us as Husband and bride. John, in Rev. spoke of the church as the Bride. We are in the Family of God and of His Salvation. If we are to be in the one spirit with Salvation, we must then look at ourselves as Family and the Lord is our husband. An as many as there are of us, each is the bride Christ chose.

The Greeks and the Romans brought the idea of one man, one woman to the Jews. Under Jewish law, a man could have many wives, but he could not neglect any of them. By the time Jesus came, One man-one woman was the rule, but not the law.

So put aside for the moment the single bride concept of the church and think of how Christ, who is All Things to all men, can in fact have many brides. We are in fact all brides of Christ as we are also, sons of God. WE are brother, wife and children to our Lord. If we are to continue in our Wholeness vision, we must take on the aspects of each of these.

I would like to consider the wife first. It is because Paul and Peter both thought of the wife as the obedient servant that the Male Dominate Church abused them so well, that I would like us, as men, to enter into their world. We must as, men in the church, look upon ourselves as brides before the Perfect Husband, Jesus. Ruth is the wife that we are to become(Read Ruth 2:1-21, 3:5-13). Ruth is the wife that we are to become, giving ourselves over obedience to Christ as she obeyed Naomi. She gave herself in complete trust to the will of God even before she know the fruit of that trust. Not only was she faithful to the law of the people, but she put her reputation on the line, and put herself into the most important person of the land. She obeyed Naomi, trusted Boaz, and relied on God WITHOUT QUESTION. Her reward was that she would become the bride of Boaz, and through her line, the Salvation King would be born. Our lives should be as was Ruth’s. We should be able to lay at the feet of Jesus as a dog or a slave, claiming no rights of our own, and be willing to do whatever is asked of us. We should be willing to glean the fields for scraps, without seeking other fields. We should risk resting at the Feet of Jesus, waiting for His commands. In that way, we become as brides and are rewarded with many blessings.

I always felt that if I could be as faithful as was Ruth, I would truly see Christ as my Master and my Lover. Even before I understood the relation that God wanted for me, I wanted a awareness of God that equaled that of Ruth. It was the trust in family law and the right of Kinship that allowed Naomi to put Ruth in the place that she was. The reward was that she was redeemed. When we are redeemed in Christ Jesus, we were bought by His Blood. He took us into the courts of the Father and said: “I claim the right of Kinship and call this one my bride.” We are to prepare ourselves to be the brides and to love to serve the Lord who rescues us. We are to love to wait upon the groom who paid our ransom. Much of the Testament of Jesus reflects on how we are to approach life with compassion and gentleness, these are the qualities of a bride. Not only are we to be a pleasure to look upon (being pure of heart), but we are to be submissive to the Love Jesus showers us with, who is our Husband.

The best part of this marriage relationship, is that Jesus does not make huge demands upon us that are not within His Goodness and work for the positive. We are only asked to Love Him, Serve Him and to care for others as He cares for us. He showers us with gifts that improve our quality, enhance our outlook and ease our suffering. This is why the early church, as does the church today attracted more women than men. Jesus offers us a chance to serve Him without fear and to love for the Love given without reservation. By His Unconditional Love, Jesus has been the Perfect Husband. Let us then unconditionally, love Him as perfect brides. If we, as men, strive to be as a bride of Jesus in our love to Him, then we as husbands become as Christ in our love for our wives. This is what Paul was trying to say in Eph.5:22-29.

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