Lionhearted and Lamblike

I pray that you will be lionhearted and lamblike in your servant leadership.

Today, Julia and I have the privilege of participating in my sister's wedding. We are excited to watch as they are joined together by God, family and friends. I have been to a few weddings since graduating from college and becoming a married man myself, and one of the charges which I like to give future husbands is the prayer that they would be lionhearted and lamblike in their servant leadership. Julia enjoys laughing at my little statement but in honor of the wedding tonight I wanted to take a minute or a few lines and explain what I mean when I charge husbands to be lionhearted and lamblike in servant leadership.

The reason I am using the title “Lionhearted and Lamblike” to refer to the Christian husband as head of his wife is because the husband is called to lead like Jesus who is the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5) and the Lamb of God (Rev. 5:6)—he was lionhearted and lamblike, strong and meek, tough and tender, aggressive and responsive, bold and brokenhearted. He sets the pattern for manhood.

Lionhearted:

A husband must be lionhearted in the area of protection and provision.
 First, consider protection. In Ephesians 5:25–27 Paul shows the husband how to love his wife—that is, how to exercise the kind of servant leadership that Christ did:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

In the words “gave himself up for her,” we hear the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When Christ gave himself for us, he took our place. He bore our sins and became a curse for us and died for us; and because of all this we are reconciled to God and saved from—protected from!—his wrath. If there ever was an example of leadership that took the initiative to save and protect his bride, this is it. So when Paul calls a husband to be the head of his wife by loving like Christ when he leads, whatever else he means, he means: Protect her at all costs.

Second, a man must be lionhearted as provider. Consider Ephesians 5:28–29:

“In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.”

The words nourish and cherish are significant. The word nourish (ektrephei) is most often used in the Bible for raising children and providing them with what they need, but the part of that meaning that applies here is not that the husband is a parent but that he is a caring provider. It is used more in the sense of Genesis 45:11, where Joseph says to his brothers, “I will provide [ekthrepsō] for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come.” So the point is at least that the husband who leads like Christ takes the initiative to see to it that the needs of his wife and children are met. He provides for them.

Lamblike:

Lamblike leadership is also found in Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her." Lamblike leadership is tied to husbands loving their wives with the same unreserved, selfless, and sacrificial love that Christ has for the church. Christ gave everything He had; including His own life, for the sake of His church and that is the standard of sacrifice for a husband's love of his wife. A lionhearted husband will take a bullet for his spouse (protection) but the lamblike husband will die to self on a daily basis and lead her sacrificially. For example, a husband must be lamblike in the way he talks with his wife, shepherds his children and selflessly leads the family. The same man whose hands may be tough from work must take the time to tenderly massage his spouse. The same man whose words may be sharp with critics must be slow to speak and quick to listen to his spouse and children. A husband must take the time to nurture and build up his wife with words of affirmation and acts of kindness. Lamblike leadership reveals itself in the way the husbands "washes his wife in the water of the word", the way the husband handles the bills, house/car maintenance, and other demands which encroach upon the family. 

In conclusion, the charge to be lionhearted and lamblike is a Biblical charge which will take a lifetime to fulfill. Being a husband is not easy (trust me I know), some days we fall down more than we stand, however there is encouragement. The encouragement is that Christ does not call us to do what he won’t empower us to do. Consider Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Husbands are called to do some very hard things. Leadership is not easy. But Christ will give you the strength. So be encouraged. Leadership is hard. But you’re a man! Therefore, I pray that you will be lionhearted and lamblike in your servant leadership.