
So, this is not my favorite book on the subject but you gotta give credit where credit is due. The author* is right on in this:
Mr. Visionary
God is a Visionary as seen in his person, the Holy Spirit. He made some men in the image of that part of his nature. Prophets, be they true or false, are usually of this type. Some of you are married to men who are shakers, changers, and dreamers. These men get the entire family upset about peripheral issues, such as: do we believe in Christmas? Should we use state marriage licenses? Should a Christian opt out of the Social Security system? The issues may be serious and worthy of one’s commitment, but , in varying degrees, these men have tunnel vision, tenaciously focusing on single issues. They are often the church splitters and the ones who demand doctrinal purity and proper dress and conduct. Like a prophet, they call people to task for their inconsistencies. If they are not wise, they can be real jerks who push their agendas, forcing others to go their way.
What does it mean to be married to this man? It’s been twenty-three years and I’m still learning. He is passionate. He can be moody at times. He is a thinker, not content to take your word for how things should be. He is black or white- almost never gray. Right or wrong. He can tend towards extreme positions on the issues- this is where our church and elders are a great balance for the Riley Family, pulling us back towards the middle of the of the road and admonishing us to always be looking towards Christ.- O.K. so they are probably thinking- What? This is the Riley’s balanced?!? Oh Lord, help us!
We are currently studying the life of David Livingstone and Les actually cheered and high-fived me when he heard this excerpt from Peter Hammond
David Livingstone was inspired by an optimistic eschatology. Like most of the
missionaries of the nineteenth century, Livingstone was a postmillenialist who
held to the eschatology of victory. The optimistic missionary wrote,
“Discoveries and inventions are cumulative…filling the earth with the glory of the Lord,
all nations will sing His glory and bow before Him…our work and it’s fruit are cumulative.
We work towards a new state of things. Future missionaries will be rewarded by conversions
for every sermon.We are their pioneers and helpers. Let them not forget the watchmen of
the night, who worked when all was gloom and no evidence of success in the way
of conversions cheers our path. They will doubtless have more light than we, but we
serve our Master earnestly and proclaim the same Gospel as they will do.”
I struck me a while back that even our family worship reflects this dominion theology. We are focusing on the Kingship of Christ as a family. It even comes out in the hymns we pick. It is our family culture and is very much, unapologetically, shaped by Les and built around Christ.
He’s sometimes hard to please- he expects alot out of us and alot out of himself.
Settling for less than we are capable of is not faithful contentment for what God has given us; it is slothful ingratitude for His gifts. ~Les Riley (from the Riley bulletin board)
We woke up to this little note from Les on our bulletin board. This is pretty typical. It’s not always an easy path he lays before us but we know that his main goal is to live a life of sold out obedience to Jesus Christ.
Les is passionate about fatherhood, liberty, repentance and bringing all under the rule of Christ. Les is passionate about everything. And can sometimes be impatient with people who aren’t. Who was it that said “The Christian life is a battleground, not a playground”? I can’t remember but it gets quoted at us alot around here. Passionate men can, sometimes alot of times, be misunderstood & I find myself frequently asking him who’s hatin’ on him this week. This used to bother me. I tended to take it personally when people attacked my husband- and they do often. If you take a stand for righteousness in this world, people will hate you. There was just something about threats to our home and my husbands physical person that used to get under my skin. It has been a gracious work of God to give me peace in this area.
If my husband is to stand in the gate and proclaim truth he needs me to stand behind him in faith, to hold him up in prayer. He does not need to constantly babysit my fearful , faith-lacking spirit. We have a flag hanging on our den wall. It is white with a blue star and the words Liberty or Death on it. This flag was stitched by a group of wives in Georgia and presented to their husbands as they left to join the fight for independence in Texas. These women believed something was more important than themselves. That something was liberty. How much more should we be willing to sacrifice for the cause of righteousness? So far all I have really given up to follow this man and his vision is (what the world calls) financial security, leisure/me time and probably alot of sleep. But if I embrace this man and give my life to supporting him in his God given vision- Wow. The blessings and freedom are so much more than I can begin to describe. This is who I am called to be in Christ. This is one of the most important roles a woman can play. It is common to hear that motherhood is the highest calling but I think that is putting the cart before the horse. How can I fulfill the high calling of motherhood if I am not first being a prayer partner, helper, lover, encourager and friend to the man God placed over me? I was created for Him first and then for him. What a blessing!

“High hearts are never go long without hearing some new call, some distant voice of God, even in their dreams. Soon they are observed to break up the camp of ease and start on some new fresh march of faithful service. And, looking higher still, we find those who never wait until their moral work accumulates, and who reward resolution with no rest. Therefore, with them the alteration is instantaneous and constant. They do the good only to see the better, and see the better only to acheive it. They are too meek for transport, too faithful for remorse, too earnest for repose. Their worship is action, and their action is ceaseless aspiration.” – James Martineau