The Power of the Rails

"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."
Ephesians 5:23 (NIV)

A car salesman has a customer sitting in a new computerized car. He points to a button on the dash. "Push that and a voice tells you everything — how much gas you have, when to turn, when to stop, how fast you're going." He pauses, grinning. "Sir, there's nothing this car won't tell you from the time you get in until you get out."

The man gets out and walks away. "Why don't you want it?" the salesman calls after him.

"Why do I need that car? I've got a wife."

You may chuckle at that, but every marriage has two people with unique strengths. In our home, Teresa manages all the finances. She writes every check, pays every bill, and does the taxes. When a financial decision comes up, I go to her first. And if she says no, I don't buy it. 

That's not weakness; it’s wisdom. Submission in marriage was never meant to flow only one direction. But there are times when it does require someone to lead and someone to follow, because nothing with two heads ever works.

Think about a train. It isn't trapped by its tracks, but empowered by them. Stay between the rails and it can go anywhere and carry anything. Step off them and it goes nowhere.

Staying on the rails looks like a husband who leads with humility instead of demanding his way. It looks like a wife who respects her husband's leadership even when she sees it differently. It’s two people choosing God's order over their own instincts.

Stay on the tracks God laid down. They were never the limit. They're the whole reason you can move.

Prayer: Father, help me see submission the way You designed it, not as weakness but as wisdom. Give me the humility to lead well and the grace to follow well, trusting that the order You designed is always for my good. In Jesus' Name, Amen.