Disruptive Grace
There are times when God's Word breaks into our lives and causes a disruption. It's counter-cultural, counter-intuitive it runs against the grain of what I want. We cry out, "God, what are you doing?"
Consider Joseph. He is engaged to Mary, who unexpectedly becomes pregnant but not in the way Joseph thinks. The baby Mary has conceived is not conceived of a man but by the Holy Spirit of God. God chose Mary to give birth to Jesus, the Savior of the world, but if you step back and see it from Joseph's perspective, it's like God is breaking in and disrupting this poor man's storybook family. What we learn is how God's timing and commands are perfect. God's promise is sure, and Joseph's obedience is how the whole world is blessed.
The circumstances surrounding Mary are not what they seem, and just as Joseph was about to legally and quietly break off the engagement with Mary, God intervenes and speaks directly to him. God's audible revelation to Joseph in a dream is God's Word to Joseph as recorded in Matthew chapter one.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25
God is revealing his unfolding plan to Joseph in the same way that he has revealed himself to us in the written Word of God, the Bible.
As a result, Joseph does the right and unusual thing. His obedience is uncommon because of the ridicule and shame he feared by others, maybe even his own family. Joseph does not act on his fear; instead, his trust triumphs over his fear and Joseph trusts God. He intends to marry his fiance. Mary gives birth to a son, Jesus. Jesus is the Promised One, the Son of God, the Messiah, the One through which we receive the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
There is a pattern we see here: God's promise, the Word of God revealed, man's obedience, and then a blessing.
Similarly, God's instructions to husbands and wives in Ephesians 5 break into our equality sensitive world as a disruption or more like a 500lb bomb. Wives submit to your husbands. Husbands, be the spiritual head of the home and love your wives. It's counter-cultural, it is disruptive. God, don't you understand we are modern people? We don't talk this way.
But what we see in Ephesians is the same pattern that we see at the birth of Jesus with Joseph and Mary. God's promise comes first. A brief study of Ephesians and we know that we are blessed and loved in chapter one. We have a relationship with God through Jesus that restores our relationship to God in chapter two, and in chapter three, everyone, including the Gentile nations, is blessed through Jesus. Chapters one to three is the promise and revealed Word of God. Only then after the promise do we see the commands to walk worthy of our calling, to walk in love, to walk in the light, wives submit to your own husbands, and husbands love your wives. We see the commands following the promises in chapters four through six.
God's commands disrupt the sin-fallen broken-normal of our lives like a surgeon resetting a broken bone. From our perspective, God doesn't know what he is doing. What kind of modern family looks like the family in Ephesians five and six? A godly family. A blessed family. A family through which God's Word and work will flow to people around them.
If we are patient enough to look further, to study God's promises and his commands, we will see a pattern of love. The path to God's blessing sometimes leads humanity through a sheep pen and a feeding trough and to a cross before we see the glory of the resurrection.
I don't know how the commands of God are breaking in on your life specifically today but know that they are based upon his gracious promises. Follow his Word, trust God like Joseph, and know that God's blessing will follow.
