basics. The apparel which wears best and never goes "out of style" is a meek and quiet spirit. It is what you are, not what you wear, that counts most. Peter illustrates all of this by mentioning Sarah, the wife of Ab raham. A wife might protest that being married to Abraham is not nearly as demanding as being mar ried to her husband. Abraham was a godly man and obedient to the Lord. But Sarah had her problems, too. We usually stress the fact that in trust Abraham obeyed Cod when he left the city of Ur in Chal dea to travel to an unknown land. But Sarah also left Ur in just as great faith. It could well have been harder for her than for Abraham. Sarah also submitted to the enact ment of Abrahabm's lies when he passed her off as his sister before a foreign king (Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-8). On both occasions, Sarah almost ended up as a harem girl. Do you think she enjoyed this trickery at her expense? Yet, she was submissive to her husband be cause "she trusted in God." She believed that Cod would take care of her, and He did. Abraham is father of the faith ful, but Sarah, the wife, is mother of the obedient wives. The obedi ence of a Christian wife does not mean anxious fears, constant dread, nor cowering terror. As long as a wife is confident that her conduct is right and shaped by an honest love for her husband, she is not to be "put in fear of any terror." Christian wives do not have to be alarmed by threats of ill-treat ment because of their quiet con fidence and steadfast hope in God. Such women can win their hus bands by the silent preaching of their lovely wives.
A WORD TO HUSBANDS While the old saying assures us, "Behind every great man, there stands a woman," yet according to the Bible, in a Christian marriage, the reverse ought also to be true. Paul points this out clearly in the fifth chapter of Ephesians begin ning at verse 22. God declares that a husband is the head of his house hold. He requires that wives sub mit to them because of this. While the male is the leader yet he has absolutely no right to govern his home in an improper or un-Bibli- cal manner. A husband is to lead his wife through love. There is no room for harsh or selfish tyrants. The love is peculiar to them and a type Cod never requires of wives. You see, the responsibility for love between a Christian couple lies squarely on the husband's heart. A Creek scholar, G. Abbot Smith, defines this special kind of love this way: "To feel and exhibit es teem and good will to a person, to prize and delight in a thing." Why does a musician prize a piece of music or a painter a picture? It is because they see the real worth of the symphony or the portrait. This love may not be spontaneous or emotional; it is the result of thought and of the will. It is a mental atti tude controlled by Jesus Christ, seeking always the highest good of the person loved. Cod gives husbands two stand ards to follow. The first, in verse 25, is a divine standard. Christian husbands must love their wives as Christ loved the Church. Our love must be sacrificial. At Calvary, his tory's holy of holies, we bow be fore love that came to give and not to get. No woman would find it
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