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General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson received his nickname because of the way he would remain motionless and calm in the heat of battle. The story is told by C.S.A. General Imboden (then a Captain) that after hearing of Jackson’s wounds he rode to Centreville and during the conversation asked him “General, how is it that you can keep so cool, and appear so utterly insensible to danger in such a storm of shells and bullets as rained about you when your hand was hit?” The General answered him in a grave and reverent tone, “Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death; I do not concern myself with that, but to always be ready no matter when it may overtake me. That is the way all men should live, then all men would be as equally brave” (Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War, Henderson, pg. 139).
A man with that much courage and fortitude is rarely seen as soft, but General Jackson had his soft side especially when it came to his wife. He wrote in one letter, “When in prayer for you last Sabbath, the tears came to my eyes, and I realized an unusual degree of emotional tenderness. I have not yet fully analyzed my feelings to my satisfaction, so as to arrive at the cause of such emotions; but I am disposed to think that is consisted with the idea of the intimate relation existing between you, as the object of my tender affection, and God, to whom I looked up as my Heavenly Father…” (The Life and Letters of General Stonewall Jackson, pg. 67). After reading the letter I was forced to ask myself when the last time it was that I talked to my wife like that. I am confident that our wives are in desperate need of our love day in and day out. Satan’s greatest target is the home. If he can get between a husband and a wife he can cause bitterness and rage in them and in their children. When we read in Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her….” Christ allowed himself to be spit on, beaten, and crucified for the church because of “His great love.” Men, there are times to be rough and tough, but our wives MUST know that we love them; they must know that we would die for them. This is how they KNOW it that they feel it and see it in our day to day lives. You might say, “The previous verses say that she is supposed to submit….well…she doesn’t.” Love and Respect are not conditional commands, in other words, they are not based on whether or not the opposite one does his or her part, our wives will be and in fact are responsible to God as to whether they follow God’s commands; the command is unconditional for both. If men would soften up and love their wives as Christ loved the church how would our homes change? How would our churches change? How would our communities change? How would our country change? I am still learning to love my wife as Christ loved the church, and I hope that through the years my love will grow more and more. Our wives will feel more secure, our children will see by an example of how to live by and Christ will be glorified. No one ever called General Jackson softy (and lived to tell the tale!), but there was a soft spot in his heart for his wife. Are you man enough to be soft? David Flug
Adult Ministries Intern |
