Randy Hemingway's Blog

On my way to work this morning, I was asking the Lord to help me trust Him that He would help me to do what’s right today. Then, I began thinking, “You know, you (speaking to myself) trust Him with your eternity, why can’t you trust Him that He will keep you when you are doing what He asks you to do?” You may trust Him to save you for eternity, but, if you can’t trust His promises that He will make you happy if you obey Him, what kind of faith is that?

Then, in the vein, of the “Husbands” series I’ve been writing, I began to think about my relationship with my wife: I may love my wife enough to physically die for her, but if I can’t give up a hobby just to spend more time with her, what kind of love is that?

What kind of faith is that? What kind of love is that? It’s not faith at all. It’s not love at all. I came to the conclusion that this is exactly what James was talking about in James 2:20: “faith without works is dead.” I hope I, and you, can be encouraged to have a faith that is shown by the works it produces.

This idea came upon just as I was going to sit down and study for the Sunday School lesson I have to teach tomorrow and really, really need to study for.

The first song, of course, is for my Mom. This is a song called “Emily,” by Steve Gibb. Click here to listen…

My Dad’s song, fittingly enough, is called “Keith’s Tune,” by Lance Allen. Click here to listen…

I know absolutely nothing about either artist but the tunes are fun to listen to. The link should take you to the song’s page on last.fm. The song should start playing automatically after a couple seconds. Enjoy! Love you, Mom and Dad!

Question #3: Why am I supposed to love my wife?

Or, rather, what is the point of loving my wife? What are we, as husbands, working toward when we set about to love our wives with Christ’s Love?  Since we are to love our wives as Christ loved the church, we should have the same goal in mind that Christ has regarding the church. Christ’s goal in loving the church can be summed up in one word: sanctification. Vine’s Concise Dictionary says, “Sanctification is that relationship with God into which men enter by faith in Christ, and to which their sole title is the death of Christ.” Christ gave Himself for us so that we might have a relationship with Him. Read Ephesians 5:25 & 26 again. It says, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.” Christ gave His life for the church, for you, so that He could sanctify the church, so that He could have a true relationship with the church.

God wants us to have a true relationship with our wives. Why? Again, what’s the point? The point is that, together, you and your wife might experience an earthly relationship so loving, sweet, pure, and strong that it is analogous to Christ’s relationship with His church. God didn’t institute marriage so that we would be bound like slaves to live out our morbid existence in misery. God never instituted anything that would destroy life; but, rather, His institutions are only ever for the creation and preservation of true Life. God wants you to have Life in your marriage. Jesus said that He is “come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (Jn. 10:10)

How is this Life achieved? How can I bring this Life into my marriage? By submitting to one another, like Ephesians 5:21 says. That commandment is to you. You need to take the first step. You need to lovingly submit to your wife. Then, it’s up to her to decide whether or not she will reciprocate your love. Why do we love Christ? “We love him, because he first loved us.” (I Jn. 4:19) As an emulator of Christ in His relationship to the church, you should love your wife, so she can love you in return. Then, through submission one to another in the fear of God, love will grow and Life by love.

In the next part of this series, I’ll begin to get into practicalities. I’ll begin with: Question #4: How can I submit to my wife?

Hope you enjoy the music as much as I do!

1) Andres Segovia plays “Recuerdos de la Alhambra” (last.fm Audio)

This one is absolutely beautiful. Most recordings of Segovia (a classical guitar pioneer of the 20th century) actually playing it are of poor quality. Despite the recording quality, I enjoy listening to this one over and over and over and, well, you get the idea.

2) Christopher Parkening plays “Chaconne”  (last.fm Audio)

Chaconne can be a little intimidating, at first, considering it is 13 minutes long. However, I love listening to it. It’s so peaceful and graceful. Christopher Parkening, a born-again Christian and a student of Segovia’s, performs this piece masterfully.

 
3) The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet plays an arrangement of Chet Atkins’ “Blue Ocean Echo” (YouTube Video)

The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, comprised of Bill Kanengiser, Andrew York, Scott Tennant, and John Dearman (and now, Matthew Greif, who replaced Andrew York), play an arrangement of Chet Atkins’ “Blue Ocean Echo” in this video. This song is just a lot of fun to listen to. The execution is awesome. Have fun!

4) The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet plays Pachelbel’s “Loose” Canon (YouTube Video)

This adaptation of Pachelbel’s classic Canon in D is performed by LAGQ, who take this classic tune through several musical genres, all using just the guitars in their laps. The variety of sound and style they achieve with one instrument is a testament to their mastery of the classical guitar. “Pachelbel’s ‘Loose’ Canon” is another fun one to listen to.

 
5) Christopher Parkening plays “Fairest Lord Jesus” (YouTube Video)

In looking for some classical guitar videos, I ran across this one of Christopher Parkening playing “Fairest Lord Jesus.” Not only is this an example of Mr. Parkening’s exquisite technique, but it also includes a short excerpt from an interview in which he expresses his desire to serve the Lord. I believe it’s because of his personal relationship with Christ that he can play this song with the conviction and feeling that most artists can only try to inject artificially into their music. A beautiful piece, excellently performed.

6) John Williams plays “Cavatina” from the movie, Deer Hunter (YouTube Video)

John Williams (no, not that John Williams), another student of Segovia, performs this gorgeous piece that was popularized when it was incorporated into the movie, Deer Hunter. I have no idea what the movie’s about, but John Williams, a world-class guitarist, plays this piece wonderfully.

Well, there are a few more pieces I wanted to add to this list, but these are the pieces that really caught my attention and turned me on to the classical guitar. I hope you enjoy listening to the audio or watching the videos. If this list has made you want to find more classical guitarists worth listening to, might I suggest Julian Bream, Pepe Romero, Sharon Isbin, and Ana Vidovic. Enjoy!

I haven’t been able to do much more writing in this series, lately, since I’ve been putting into practice some of the things I’ve been talking about. To demonstrate my love for my wife, I’ve laid down my free time in the evenings to renovate our master bathroom. It’s been fun and educational, and it’s coming to an end…soon. Of course, I’ve been saying we’re almost done for the last week or so. Anyway, I will add Part 3 some time.

Also, if you’d like to pray that I find some time to prepare for teaching my first Sunday School lesson ever in my whole life, I’d appreciate it. I’m going to have to craft the plot of the story from the Bible and my vast story-telling abilities. *to self* Those poor kids. *snaps out of it* Anyway! That’s what’s up. Catch y’all latah!

To everyone who is reading my “Husbands” series that is not married, is not a husband, is way too young to be married, or is in the process of thinking, “Boy, that marriage thing sounds cool. Maybe I’ll try that.”:

What I’ve talked about in the first two parts of my “Husbands” series has application for everyone. Just remember, Christ said to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Christ’s love is not reserved merely for husbands to give to their wives. Christ’s love is to be shown by every one of His children to every other person in this world, from the most deserving to the least deserving. I hope you keep reading my series, because there are myriad things that anyone with an open heart can learn from God’s Word.

UPDATE: I didn’t realize it, but this was post #150 for me on my very own personal blog. *tear* I’ve had fun. Hope you have, too!

Question #2: How did Christ love the church?

Read Ephesians 5:25-32 again. Christ loved the church so much that He gave Himself for it. So, the question is, are you willing to give your life for your wife? I’m sure if you took a survey of married men and asked them this question, the majority would say yes, without hesitation. And I would say that, for the most part, people are being genuine when they say that. However, I think the idea of giving your life for someone is misunderstood. I don’t know about you, but when I think about “giving my life” for someone, I think, “Yeah, I would take a bullet for that person.” I don’t immediately think that giving my life for someone involves giving every moment of my life for someone else, putting aside what I “deserve” (or, rather, what I think I deserve) to give someone what they don’t deserve, that is, love.

What does the Bible say we deserve? Well, the Bible says we deserve death, because there is nothing in us that is good. (Rom. 3:10) So, what am I getting at? You don’t deserve love. I don’t deserve love. So, how can God ask us to show love to someone who doesn’t deserve it?

Read Matthew 18:21-35. The main character in the story had a problem. He owed the lord a huge sum of money. The lord called him on it and nearly sent him to jail for the rest of his life to repay the debt, but the man pleaded for mercy. The lord, in a display of unconditional love, forgave the man his debt. The man, now free of debt and its judgment, went right to his friend and demanded he repay a petty debt that his friend owed him. When the lord heard about this, he condemned the man to eternal judgment, because the man didn’t give to his friend the forgiveness that the lord had just given to him.

This story shows us why we should show love to others. We owe God a huge, unpayable debt for our sin. God will, if we receive His mercy, forgive us of our sin debt. How then, can we not convey the Love He has shown us to others, by releasing them of the debts they owe us. Rather, we owe it to others to love them the way God has loved us. God expects us to give others the love that He has given to us.

Let’s pull the pieces together: Christ loved the church so much that He gave Himself for it. Christ also love the church so much that, even when the church was the least deserving object of His Affection, He loved the church anyway. What does this mean for you as a husband? Regardless of whether or not you truly loved your wife when you got married; regardless of the state of your relationship now; you are commanded to love your wife in the same way that Christ loved the church. You must be willing to lay down every personal desire, goal, and passion to love your wife with Christ’s Love. Even though she may be ornery, stubborn, rude, and, yes, even unfaithful, you must choose to love her anyway. This is what the Bible says. This is God’s Will for you as a husband. And, as I’m sure you know, only by doing God’s Will can we truly experience His Joy and Peace in our marriages.

Aside: Yes, another one. My goal in writing this is, first and foremost, to help me solidify and organize the thoughts that have been racing through my brain for the last month or so. My secondary goal is to be a blessing to you, my reader. I don’t know what your marriage is like, and I don’t know what your wife is like. However, I am convinced that what I’ve written is absolutely true for your marriage, because everything I’ve said comes straight from the Bible. I hope you’ll prayerfully consider what the Word of God has taught me and maybe glean some truths from what I’ve learned.

See “Husbands, Love Your Wives, Pt. 3″ for the answer to Question #3: Why Am I Supposed to Love My Wife?