The more possessions that you have accumulated to yourself in this life, the more you are accountable to and responsible for them. The old saying of “The things you own will soon begin to own you,” is a falsehood, you can leave everything and everyone in your life at any time, if you care not at all about the consequences of your actions, or decision to do so, upon those that you walk away from.
“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34a)
In that moment, the Almighty could have ended all known reality, leaving nothing left but Himself, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the character, the essence of the Most High would not have changed at all.
“For I am the LORD, I change not;” (Malachi 3:6a)
You walk out the door one day with nothing but the clothes on your back, leaving family, friends, all your possessions, bank accounts, everything and everyone, with no plans in your thoughts but the next step.
“And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,” (Mark 10:29)
In all truthfulness my friends, that is what we are expected to do, it is what Paul did, it is, as far as we know, what every prophet and apostle did, and they did not look back. But then there is this.
“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” (1st Tim. 5:8)
Now there is an addendum, an additional commandment for the man of God who has been called by the Almighty to glorify His Holy name, and here is the crux of this letter to you.
Is your family suffering because you are following Christ?
Read the accounts of A.W. Tozer’s personal life and you will see what can happen to the family of a man called mightily by the Lord who did not understand what has been written here.
I personally know of a young man whose family left him, in part, because of his love for the Lord, a wife who would not submit to the calling of the Almighty.
The man of God who is in a marriage where both are serving the Lord Jesus Christ to the glory of God should expect no more, or no less, from his wife than Ephesians 5:22, and only if he himself has submitted his will to the will of the Almighty.
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”
The balance must be maintained, and here many husbands who have been born-again fail miserably. Pastors and laymen alike have had to been taught an extremely difficult lesson, their wife is the daughter of the Most High God, and He will suffer no one bringing adversity of any form into His daughter’s life, not even one of His sons.
You must find this balance.
God does not need you to do the work set before you, He has plenty of other servants, He does not need you to take care of His daughter that you have vowed to honor, cherish and take care of, she is safe in His hands. He expects you to study and fully comprehend what has been written down for you in His Word, to never place Him second, and if you can understand this truth, to never place your wife second either.
“Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.” (Eze. 24:16)
And that man of God did not shed one tear in public, but in private his grief and sorrow could easily have been compared to Job’s.
We leave everything for the service of our Master, as He has called us to do, but if you are a married man, consider all these words carefully, your wife will follow you, trusting you, loving you. You can do both, if you remember in all humility that your Father in heaven is also your Father-in-law, and you are married to His daughter.
