By Dr. Dencio Acop
This piece is inspired by the article written for Desiring God by Greg Morse. I once wrote on the topic of Priest, Prophet, and King — the three main ‘offices’ spoken of in the Old Testament fulfilled by Christ in the New. Like anything in the universe, there is a certain order and hierarchy whose marginalization leads to chaos and anarchy. In our part of the universe, man occupies this central role that realizes the Creator’s will. While today’s secular world has redefined marriage, the maleness or femaleness of human beings, and the high calling of men, there was a time when it was not so. And the world was the better for it. Such was the time when Christian men were priest, prophet, and king to their families and the larger organizations they led. It can be so again.
Morse wrote that ‘as priests in our homes, we get to intercede for our families before God’. The truth which is Christ, is not something that husbands and fathers can ignore if they truly love their wives and children. The immortal souls of these beloved are much too precious to leave with the games of chance the world likes to indulge in. In ‘persona Christi Copitis’, the Christian husband and father place himself between God and his family in the quest for sanctifying mercy and grace. He strives to be the domestic priest whose unblemished life will merit the Lord’s favor for his loved ones. His legacy to his family is prayer that gives right praise and worship to his Creator, sacrifice worthy of the altar, incessant intercession for mercy in moments of desolation, and thanks in moments of consolation.
Morse further wrote that ‘as prophets in our homes, we have the great privilege to speak the word of God to our family. We are spiritual shepherds’. In every domain of teaching and learning, the Christian husband and father guide his family through the great pearls of wisdom of holy scripture — the blueprint of righteous living. It takes lots of courage to speak God’s truth and spread His word in today’s world. I find that whenever I do so, I only get one or two ‘likes’ unlike secular posts which easily get hundreds. It takes, even more, to live rightfully before one can speak of God’s word to anyone. Holy words spoken by unholy lives quickly lose their flavor. But, moreover, woe to any man who uses the word of God for worldly pursuits which today are myriad. Prophets of old have been martyred. The same martyrdom continues today. The true Christian husband and father is indeed a martyr.
Finally, Morse wrote that ‘God has firmly written into the nature of every man to lead, provide for, and defend those in his charge’. ‘Though under attack from all sides, the man, as head, makes decisions for his family (both popular and unpopular). He also leads in ways many kings of the world, untutored in the lordship of Christ, wouldn’t dare. He does not just take up the privileges of authority, but its responsibilities, bending low to carry physical, emotional, and spiritual burdens for the family, and doing so with joy.’ I especially like what Morse wrote that ‘as societies descend into ungodliness, this category of the three is the last to depart’. I do because as in the faith’s great virtues of faith, hope, and love and while the latter is foremost, it is the virtue of hope that man’s king-ness strives to bring back his critically equal duties of being likewise priest and prophet to his beloved and those he leads. ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’ (Joshua 24:15). The man of the house, inspired by the One True God of the universe, does not merely look after the physical survival of those he loves on this earth but prepares their souls for sanctification into eternal communion with God when they depart from this world. He therefore loves his wife and children not merely with the shallow solicitudes of valentines but a version of his own self-sacrifice on the cross. As scripture says: ‘this extends to our most beloved companion as well, as God charges us to love her like Christ did His church, washing her with the word’ (Ephesians 5:25-27).