Are you strong enough to be a wife?

For years we have heard people say "wives submit to your husband" and stop reading there. Today, let's read a little further.

Wives, submit yourselves to your own husband as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives submit to their husbands in everything. Eph 5:22-24 NIV

The first question is... do YOU submit to Christ in everything? That's a rhetorical question... don't answer. But here's what I do want to examine.

What does it mean to be a wife?

First, in most traditional marriages, your identity changes. You change your last name. You are no longer identified by who you were. You have a new identity. There's an expectation that's placed upon you. Not just by your spouse, but by society. There's an expectation that you will love your husband. That you will help him be better. If Christ is our "husband", do we act life we are identified with Him?

When you're a wife, the choices and actions that you take affects the reputation of your family. Your choices have an impact on more than you. Your decisions affect those around you. If you date another man, it impacts your family. If you break the law, it impacts your family. Are we faithful to Christ? Do we God's mercy because we are under grace?

For most couples, there's an expectation that they will build a family. Are you making spiritual children? Are you sharing your faith with others, so they come to know Christ?

I could go on and on with what it means to be "wife" and how that impacts what we do in our relationship with God. But I just want you to ponder... are you strong enough to be a wife?