Submit to One Another

Let's read together from Ephesians 5, verses 18-33.

Ephesians 5:18–33

We're working our way through Ephesians. Ephesians 5, verses 18-33.

Ephesians 5:18–33

! And then we'll sing a hymn together just after that.

And God's Word says this,

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery.

But be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord,

for the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church,

his body, and is himself its Savior.

Now, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word,

so that he might present the church to himself in splendor,

without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,

that she might be holy and without blemish.

In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself,

for no one ever hated his own flesh,

but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church,

because we are members of his body.

Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh.

This mystery is profound,

and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

However, let each one of you love his wife as himself,

and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

This is God's Word for us today.

We are walking through the back half of Ephesians,

and the question that we're asking every week is,

what does the church do?

How do Christians live a redeemed life all the way?

And from this week, the next several weeks,

Paul turns to say that the gospel reorders and changes the way you do personal relationships.

So marriage, obviously dating and marriage this week,

and then if you look down in the,

if you have a Bible, you can see that then he goes on to talk about children and parents,

and then employers and employees.

So he's talking about how the gospel can change the way you live in personal relationships,

in every arena of life.

So today, marriage, we've got to do a flyover again like last week,

because when you work through a passage like this,

you see that every single clause,

every single word could have its own reflection,

and there could be a long series just on marriage, of course, right?

We could have weeks and weeks just thinking about the Bible's understanding of marriage,

the mystery of marriage.

Paul calls it the mystery of marriage, right?

And so some of you, if you're married in the room,

maybe you look at your spouse sometimes and say,

you are a mystery to me.

Marriage is a mystery, right?

And you say, I already know what Paul means.

Marriage is a mystery.

Now, there's a lot to that word, mystery.

Marriage is a mystery, but what does he mean?

Let's just think about the big idea, the flyover,

one kind of pass through on what that means.

And I want to focus on the headline,

which is actually the language submit,

submit to one another.

Now, if you come today,

we all come today to the Bible's teaching here about marriage,

this very famous passage, Ephesians 5,

and we come from different backgrounds,

different relationships to the concept of marriage.

Some of us may come divorced.

We may come having had a bad marriage,

a hard marriage, a difficult marriage at the present maybe.

And so you might come and read Paul's model for marriage

and be skeptical as to whether it's possible.

And some of us come single today,

and we're single maybe in content.

And so there may be a bit of an indifference

to what Paul says here about it.

This is just not where I am

and not where I really want to be.

Some of us come single and discontent,

frustrated, upset as to our relationship status right now

and wanting something different.

And so we could come to this jaded and cynical

about marriage and the model of marriage

that we read about here.

Some of us come living a pretty good marriage right now

in our lives.

We have a good marriage.

And we know, however, if you come in a good marriage,

that marriage is very up and down at times.

And I know that I can look at this today

and say that I am teaching today

not as the husband that I want to be.

Sorry, I said that completely wrong.

Not as the husband I want to be.

Boy, that's bad.

Not from a perspective of the husband I am,

reading my own life into this passage,

but what I want to be, right?

The women in the room that are married,

you can say this is what I want to be.

Husbands, this is what I want to be, not what I am.

So that's the perspective I'm coming from today

as a teacher here.

But I sure know this,

that all of us come as contemporary Western people

in the year of our Lord, 2025,

in a city like Edinburgh.

And that means when we read the word submit,

we get a little squirmy in our seats

and it's challenging

and we don't like it at first.

And that's because I think

if you'll open up to this,

what Paul says here,

what God says here,

what God says here about marriage,

open up to it.

I think we get squirmy about this concept

because we have a problem

with our view of marriage.

First, that's the first point today.

And then that means when we see that,

we can then turn to see the goal of marriage,

the real goal, secondly.

And then finally,

only if we see those two things

can we then see the power

that Paul talks about for better marriages.

So those three things,

the problem we have,

the goal of marriage as it actually is,

according to God,

and then the power that's here

for better marriages.

So let's think about that.

First, we have a problem with marriage.

Every person does.

All of us human beings do

have a problem with relationships.

And the problem is this.

We approach marriage and dating

from the perspective of self-interest

and personal self-fulfillment.

We approach marriage and dating

from the perspective of self-fulfillment

and a personal interest

in meeting our own needs.

So we ask when we come to relationships,

instinctively,

even if you don't say it out loud,

from the bottom of your consciousness,

how is this relationship going to better me

and meet my personal needs?

The pleasure I'm looking for,

the satisfaction in life,

the money goals that I might have,

we all do that.

And so that,

because of our selfishness,

it's really hard to come

and read this passage

when it says submit.

Now, press pause on that.

We read not from verse 22 to 33,

which is the classic text on marriage

in Ephesians 5.

We read from 18 to 33.

And there's a reason for that.

Usually 22 to 33 is treated as an island

all by itself.

And it begins with,

wives, submit to your husbands.

Right?

So if you back up to verse 18,

Paul says,

don't get drunk,

be filled with the Spirit.

So it's almost like

when you section it off like that,

it's like Paul is saying,

bullet point one,

stop drinking too much.

Bullet point two,

let me change subjects

and say,

now wives,

submit to your husbands.

Right?

And that's not the right way to read it.

This passage is not on an island.

It's,

you can't,

let me say that you cannot understand

what Paul's saying

without 18 to 21.

That's the,

it's fundamental to understanding

what's going on here.

And in 18 to 21,

we have one long sentence in Greek.

So if you're reading from an NIV today,

it's broken it up into a couple sentences,

but in Greek,

it's one long sentence.

And let me just read it to you one more time.

Don't get drunk with wine,

for that is debauchery.

Be filled with the Spirit,

addressing one another

in psalms, hymns,

and spiritual songs,

singing,

making melody of the Lord with your heart,

giving thanks always

and for everything to God,

the Father,

in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

and submitting to one another

out of reverence for Christ.

So that last clause,

submitting to one another

out of reverence for Christ,

he's talking to everybody

when he says that.

And so this,

you could think of that last line,

submit to one another

out of reverence,

the word that in Greek is fear of Christ,

as the headline

into which all the rest of Ephesians 5 and 6

comes underneath.

And so what is he saying?

Submit to one another

out of reverence for Christ.

Husbands,

submit out of reverence for Christ.

Wives,

submit out of reverence for Christ.

Children,

submit out of reverence for Christ.

Parents,

there's even a parental submission

to children

out of reverence for Christ.

Employers,

masters and slaves

in the early first century,

employers and employees

submit to one another

out of reverence for Christ.

mutual submission

is the headline article

at the top of the paper.

If Paul's writing a manual

for personal relationships,

the title of the manual

is mutual submission.

Back and forth.

It goes both directions

throughout every single one

of these relationships.

If you have a Bible,

you can look over

at Ephesians 6 verse 9

Ephesians 6:9

just to prove this.

In Ephesians 6 verse 9,

Ephesians 6:9

he turns to the masters

in a master-slave relationship

in the first century

and says,

masters,

do the same

as your servants

are doing for you.

Submitting,

serving.

That's what he says.

So we see that

this is a mutual submission situation.

What is submission?

What does it mean to submit?

This word here

has a synonym

throughout the rest of Ephesians

and the synonym

is service

or helpfulness.

So submission just means

serve,

helpful,

be helpful.

And Paul gives

a really clear definition

of it in the next book

of the Bible,

Philippians,

a whole chapter in fact

on it,

Philippians 2,

where he says,

this is submission,

this is service.

Do nothing

from selfish ambition

or self-centeredness.

Instead,

all things in humility

like Jesus

by counting others

more significant

than yourself.

So what does it mean

to submit,

according to Paul?

It means

to count

the other person

more significant

than yourself

and to give yourself

away for them.

Service and helpfulness

is what the concept means.

So let me say

like this,

submission

is laying down

your rights

in order to serve

somebody else

with humility

like Jesus served you.

Laying down your rights

to serve somebody else

to seek their ultimate good.

Serving them

unto their ultimate good,

never using them.

So that's the difference

in the modern conception.

We approach relationships,

self-fulfillment.

And so we use people

to meet our needs.

And the Bible's model

is mutual submission

where I lay down

my rights

to serve

the good of my spouse,

the ultimate good

of my spouse

to meet their needs,

to make their ultimate good happen.

Okay,

so let me prove this to you

once more

and move on.

In verse 22,

when it says,

wives submit to your husbands,

to your own husband,

as to the Lord,

the word submit

is not there

in the Greek text.

So it doesn't say wives,

in the Greek text

it does not say wives

submit to your own husbands

as to the Lord.

It says,

wives

to your own husbands

as to the Lord.

You see,

what's it doing?

It's pulling the word submit

from the previous verse

and assuming it,

meaning you cannot read 22

if you have not read 21

and gotten that

as the headline.

Right?

There's not even a verb there.

So mutual submission

is the headline

and now he turns

and says,

now wives,

there's a way to do that

and husbands,

there's a way to do that.

So he repeats,

he assumes the word

for a wife to a husband

and then husbands,

he assumes

and gives you a word

called love.

Mutual submission

is the model

that he gives us.

Now let me sum it all up.

Sum it all up here.

This is saying

that the Holy Spirit,

when you believe the gospel

and the Holy Spirit

comes into your life,

the Holy Spirit

reorders relationships

to be what they were meant to be

from the time of creation.

Marriage given

from the beginning

of world history,

18 to 21,

how does it start?

Be filled with the Spirit

and submit to one another.

Meaning that he's talking

to Christians

and he's saying

to Christians

and Christian marriage,

the gospel

and the presence

of the Holy Spirit

in your life

has to change

the way you approach marriage.

It's a choice

to submit to one another,

to display what marriage

was meant to be

from Genesis 1 and 2

and you've got to get

the Holy Spirit

into your life

in order to live this out.

It's a gospel transformed

mutual submission perspective.

It's a model

that only the gospel

can bring into your life

and what that means for us

is that when we look

at the problem,

self-interest,

self-fulfillment,

meeting my needs

all the time.

Paul's telling us

you need the Holy Spirit

in your life

to change you

from the inside out

and marriage is here

to serve that.

Let me give you

three quick applications

of this in your life.

Number one,

more conceptually driven.

Number one,

if you look at verse 22

where it says,

wives submit

to your husbands

and that you get

frustrated by that language,

squirmy

by that language,

just remember

that what Paul's doing here

is he's saying

the model is

mutual submission

and there's a type

of submission

appropriate for men

and women

in both directions

in certain roles here.

And it is Holy Spirit

empowered

laying down

of personal rights

to seek the good

of the other

in different ways.

Now,

the context he says

that line into,

Aristotle was the

dominant philosopher

of the first century.

He had lived

several centuries prior.

Aristotle says,

quote,

it is natural

that men

rule over women

just like some men

rule over other men.

So,

Aristotle believed

that there were

slave races,

that some races

were meant to be slaves

and he also believed

that women

were meant

to be hierarchically

subordinate

as slaves,

as servants

to men.

So,

this is Aristotle.

This is the dominant view

in the Roman Empire.

And so,

men in the Roman Empire

would often marry

and they would marry

for status.

And then,

of course,

they would live

any life they wanted

to on the side,

right?

They were never committed.

The commitment

was for their station

in life,

but they were never

really committed

in love and cherishing.

And you've got to see

that when Paul,

boy,

verse 28 and 29,

verse 33,

when Paul turns

in the Greco-Roman culture

and says,

husbands,

love and cherish

your wife

as if she were

your body.

because nobody

hates their own body.

He is talking

into a culture

that's dominated

by Aristotle

where men really

do believe

that women

are a slave gender

and it's revolutionary.

It changed the world.

And he's saying

that no,

not at all.

Men and women

equal before the Lord

and called

to mutually submit

to one another

in the beautiful model

that God has given us

in marriage.

Secondly,

non-Christians

can have healthy marriages

and that's a different talk

for a different day.

I can't treat that right now,

but I want to say this.

In the light of verses

18 to 21,

you can't come

and expect a culture,

the culture at large

to approach marriage

the way that we're reading

about right here.

Why?

Because verse 18 to 21

says you need the Holy Spirit.

You need the gospel.

You need the Spirit.

And so when we look

and say,

boy,

our culture

doesn't understand marriage,

verse 18 to 21

makes sense of that.

It says that the Holy Spirit

has got to get into your life

to see the model of marriage

that God created

from the beginning.

And so we can't expect

a culture without the Holy Spirit

to think about marriage

like the Holy Spirit

drives us to think

about marriage like.

And then thirdly

and finally,

if you're married today

or if you are dating

or if you hope

to be dating soon,

if you have plans,

what does this mean?

This means you've got to get

verses 18 to 21

in your life first.

You've got to get

the Holy Spirit

in your life first.

You've got to look

for somebody

that sees 18 to 21

mutual submission

laying down their rights

to serve one another

as the model

for the relationship

you're stepping into.

Look for that person.

Secondly,

I've got to be quick,

the goal.

All right,

the goal here of marriage,

that's the problem we have.

The Holy Spirit

reorders our relationships.

And then secondly,

the goal for marriage.

Now,

Paul says here

that marriage

is meant to be

a one flesh union

with one another

in verse 31.

What does he mean by flesh?

Is it physical?

And of course,

we know that

that is a reality in marriage.

But flesh also means

person as well.

So he's saying

that there's a dynamic here

where you become

one person.

And so when he says,

you know,

you move together

as one person

in one direction.

Not the band,

but just a good relationship.

That's how it moves.

All right?

And then he says,

okay,

here's what mutual submission

looks like.

Wives,

submitting to your husbands,

giving yourself away

in service

and love

and helpfulness

to husbands.

And so he says here,

yes,

the husband leads,

but how?

So the word submission here

is a word

for both parties

and it's a word

that has a military

connotation to it.

It's a soldiering word

and it's got the connotation

of a captain

leading a group of soldiers.

That's the background

of this word.

And you can imagine,

this is what he says.

He says,

mutual submission,

husbands leading,

yes,

but how?

How do they submit?

Well,

the captain,

imagine trench warfare

and in trench warfare

the captain gets

the troops all together

and he says,

we're about to go over the edge

and we're going to run

right into the firing squad.

And who is the first person?

The captain gathers

the troops,

the captain says,

this is where

we're going together.

And it is the captain

who takes the first step

and takes the first bullet,

right?

And so Paul turns and says,

this is your role,

husband,

mutual submission.

Your role is to lead

by giving your life away,

if that's what it takes,

to take this relationship

to the point

of spiritual maturity,

of real growth.

There's an activity

of giving your life away

for the sake of your bride,

your spouse.

And then he turns

to a wife and says,

well,

let me picture it.

It's easier to image

than describe.

Imagine a beautiful dance,

a waltz,

a great waltz,

right?

Imagine you're watching

Strictly Come Dancing,

right?

I've never seen that show,

but I understand

it's like Dancing with the Stars,

I think,

from America.

I have seen that.

And, you know,

you get these great,

these dancers,

and they're going to waltz.

And if both people

try to step forward

in the waltz

at the beginning of the dance,

what happens?

They kick each other

in the shin,

right?

So, one person

has to take a step forward

and the other

takes a step back,

right?

And you get

this beautiful harmony,

this giving and receiving

that takes place,

and it becomes

this one flesh movement,

to put it in the metaphorical sense,

this beautiful dance.

And that's what Paul's

talking about here,

this harmony

of movement,

of giving and receiving,

of leading,

yet submitting,

at the same time,

all together.

It's a harmony.

And he's saying,

this is the model,

and the motivation

is the big goal.

And here's the big goal.

Point to the big goal.

Verse 32,

he says,

the mega mystery in Greek

is that this marriage,

this harmony,

this dance,

is to be a living reenactment

of Christ,

the true groom's love

for His bride.

That this harmony

should reflect

the love

that Jesus Christ has

for His ultimate bride,

the church.

And so here's the big idea.

Only a Christian marriage

can see the big vision of this,

that marriage exists

to be a living illustration

and signpost

of the love

of the gospel itself.

The love of Jesus Christ,

the groom,

for His beautiful bride,

the church,

in the gospel itself.

Marriage is to be

so harmonious

and love and cherishing

that it looks like that.

That's the goal.

That's what we're striving

towards in marriage.

Now, let me mention

a couple quick practicals here

and move to the final point.

Number one,

notice that there is not

a word in this passage

telling you

what leading

and being led

looks like

in any particular way.

There's not a word.

There's nothing here

that says

one of you

should cut the grass,

one of you

should take out

the trash most often,

one of you should work,

one of you shouldn't.

Not a word.

You don't have details here.

And that's because

it's not always the same.

Right?

So this can be worked out

in many, many ways.

Secondly,

is it saying,

wives,

do what you're told

by your husband

because he's the leader?

No.

Not at all.

Why?

Lots of reasons,

but let me just give you one.

What is submission?

Submission,

we said,

mutual submission

is laying down

your rights

to seek

the ultimate good

of your spouse,

the other.

And wives in the room

surely know

that sometimes

your husband

makes decisions

that are not seeking

anybody's ultimate good.

Right?

And it is not

seeking his ultimate good

to not confront,

to not have conflict,

to not say sometimes

that was the wrong decision.

Right?

Of course.

See,

conflict in marriage

is necessary

if you're actually seeking

the other person's

ultimate good

because there's times

where you've got to come

and say

that was the wrong choice.

You said the wrong thing.

That was mean.

Right?

And that means

if you're truly seeking

somebody's ultimate good,

there's always

a back and forth

between activity

and passivity,

a mutual giving

and receiving

in both directions,

always.

You have to be.

You see,

let me give you this.

The goal underneath the goal.

What's the goal

underneath the goal?

If you look at

verse 26 and 27,

what was Jesus' goal

in coming for His great bride?

It says,

He came to cleanse her

and make her wrinkle-free,

cleansed from all unrighteousness.

Right?

What is the goal of marriage?

The goal underneath the goal

to signpost the gospel

and the goal underneath that

is to pursue

your spouse's holiness,

to seek their holiness,

that you say,

I want them to be a diamond.

And what have we been talking about

in the back half of Ephesians?

It's all about imitation of Christ,

of becoming who God

has made you in Christ,

of becoming the emerald,

the diamond

that God has pronounced you

to be through the gospel.

Marriage,

the goal of marriage,

is to seek the well-being

of your spouse

so much so

that he or she

becomes the diamond

that God has pronounced them to be.

It's to pursue

their holiness ultimately.

And that means finally,

and I'll move to the last thing,

that two qualities,

I read through this passage

and I just note

some of the particular words.

It says,

Husbands,

love her,

cherish her.

It says to both parties,

verse 31,

hold fast

to one another.

Love and respect,

mutual submission,

all these words.

You take all these words,

I think you whittle them down

and you have two qualities

to a healthy marriage.

And the two qualities

are passionate love

commingled

with unyielding commitment.

Think about the world

Paul's speaking into.

The first century,

dominated by Aristotle.

That old world

was commitment

without passion.

Commitment

without cherishing.

So I will marry you,

said the first century husband.

I will marry you,

but I will have lots

of relationships

on the side.

And I need you

to provide status for me.

Right?

That's commitment,

but there's no love.

There's no cherishing.

There's no looking

at your bride

as your own body.

And you look at the new world

and what is it?

We have all love,

all feelings,

but no commitment.

Right?

We have feelings

without foundation.

We have feelings

of love

without holding fast.

And Paul says

the model here

is passionate love

where you are seeking

to actively cherish

your spouse

and at the same time

unyielding commitment,

holding fast.

And those two things

are coming together

and that's a beautiful relationship

according to this model.

Now if you are married,

again,

if you are dating,

if you hope to be dating,

look for somebody,

become somebody,

talk to your spouse

and say,

is the goal

of our relationship

one another's holiness?

That's the question.

Have you talked about it?

Have you sat down

and said,

is it really the case

that our goal

for one another

is pursuing

each other's holiness?

That's what Paul's

calling us to here.

Lastly,

I have to finish.

Where are we going

to get the power for this?

That's the question

often at the end

of these sermons.

Where are we going

to get the power for this?

If you just look

from verses 18 to 33,

notice how many times

in this sequence

Paul brings us back

to Jesus.

So from 18,

I'll just list a few of you,

a few of them.

Verse 18,

be filled with the Spirit.

Verse 19,

make melody to the Lord.

That's Jesus.

Verse 20,

give thanks in the name

of the Lord,

Jesus Christ.

Verse 21,

submit to one another

why out of reverence

for Christ.

Submit to the Lord,

the next verse,

as Christ is the head

of the church,

its Savior.

The church submits

to Christ.

Love as Christ loved.

Love as Christ

gave himself up.

Every single clause,

Paul says something

to us,

and then he turns

and says something

about Jesus.

Every single clause

in a back and forth.

And notice the one

probably most important one,

the headline,

submit to one another

out of reverence

for one another.

No.

It's not submit

to one another

out of respect

and reverence

for each other.

It's submit to one another

out of fear of Jesus,

fear of Christ.

Fear there means all.

Love, honor.

In other words,

what is it saying?

It's saying the way

to sustain a beautiful marriage,

like we're reading about here

and to grow into it,

is not because you look

and say,

I deserve to be loved

like this,

and she or he deserves

to be loved like this.

Right?

You know that that

cannot sustain it.

If you look and say,

I love you because

of all your qualities

and that's it,

you know that over time

you will both struggle

if that is the only reason.

What does he say?

He says,

submit to one another

in deep love and affection,

cherishing,

holding fast

out of fear of Jesus,

out of reverence for Christ.

He says,

keep coming back to Christ

and look at him

if you want to be able

to look at one another

and serve one another

to the point

of seeking their holiness.

He says,

you've got to constantly

come back

to the Christ

who died,

the great groom

who died for you,

the great bride.

That's the one

you have to look at

if you want to be sustained

in this possibility,

a relationship like this.

And this is the last word here.

He says at the end,

verse 32,

marriage is a mega mystery.

What is he talking about there?

He's bringing us

in that word mystery

all the way back

to the beginning of history.

Genesis 1 and Genesis 2.

And you can remember

there that there was a marriage.

Adam and Eve were married.

And Eve stood in the Garden of Eden

next to the tree

of the knowledge

of good and evil.

and she reached out her hand

and she took from it.

And in verse 7 of Genesis 3,

it says,

Adam was with her.

And Adam had been given

a calling,

protect the garden.

Protect your bride.

Love her and cherish her forever.

And seek her ultimate good.

What is marriage?

It's there to seek

the ultimate good of the other.

And Adam had been given

that charge,

seek her ultimate good.

And you know what he did?

He stood next to her

as she reached out

and she ate

and she broke the world.

She was deceived.

He was not.

He knew what was happening.

And he let it happen

the whole way.

And then when God

came into the garden,

God said,

what is going on?

Where are you?

What have you done?

And what did he do?

The first word he speaks

is he blames her for it.

So that is the opposite

of Ephesians 5.

That's the opposite

of healthy marriage.

Okay?

And if you were to read

Ephesians 5 backward

into Genesis 2 and 3,

what could we ask?

What would a beautiful,

wonderful husband,

what should Adam have done

in the moment that Eve

reached out her hand

and took and ate?

When God came down,

boy, that cost the world.

It's exile.

It's the loss of God's presence.

It's bruised and broken

by the fall.

What should he have done?

What does Paul say

here in Ephesians 5?

The role of a husband

is to love her

to the point

of laying down his life

for her sake.

What should he have done?

He should have said,

Lord,

don't send her into exile.

Don't let her go into judgment.

Take me.

It's my fault.

I will lay down my life for her.

I will die

so that she might live.

That's what he should have said.

Thanks be to God

that there is a better Adam

than the first one.

A second Adam.

A true Adam.

An Adam that came all the way

into the middle of history

and said,

I will lay my life down

for my bride.

A great groom.

If you're married,

if you're dating,

if you're looking for marriage,

do you see that

because Jesus Christ

came to be your great groom,

the more and more

you run into his arms,

the more your relationship

has the potential for greatness.

Let us pray.

Father,

we ask that you would give us

conviction

about the way

we are pursuing

our relationships.

We ask,

Lord,

that we would be convicted

of our selfishness

and turned today

by the power of the Spirit

to pursue the ultimate good

of our beloved ones.

and we know

that the only way

to do that right now

is to turn our eyes

upon Jesus

to say,

I am not my own.

My goal is not me.

So,

Lord,

as we sing now,

we just ask for help.

We ask that you would

turn us away from ourselves

and give us

a reimagined vision

for beautiful marriage.

We need it.

We need it.

We struggle so much,

Lord,

so I know I do,

so Lord,

help us.

We pray in Christ's name.

Amen.