This morning I was asked, "If women desire men who are like Jesus, what kind of woman as illustrated in the Bible do men search for?"
I believe that if we all acted wisely, men would desire women who demonstrate something of the ideal Church, Christ's bride. [Rev. 21:9-10; John 3:28-29; Eph. 5:22-33]
Above all, the Church is willing to receive mercy. She knows and is ashamed of her inadequacies and imperfections, but trusts that she is received in love. So ideally, a woman is sensible of her sins and weaknesses and therefore seeks to have a relationship built on mutual graciousness and patience. [Tit. 3:3-8]
The Church desires to improve, all her life to become more conformed to the way Christ loves. A woman who yearns for grace to become more loving and wise is especially desirable. [Rom. 8:29]
The ideal Church is teachable, desiring to learn from Christ. So a woman with a heart to learn with and from her husband is admirable. [Matt. 11:29; 1 Tim. 2:11; Tit. 3:14]
The ideal Church is modest and yet beautiful, giving glory to Christ for all she is. An ideal woman, then, is sensible of her gifts as having been given graciously by God for the enjoyment of herself and others. She desires more and more to shed her old rags of vanity and to put on humility. [1 Cor. 4:7; Jas. 1:17; 1 Tim. 2:8-10]
Just as the chief work of the Church is to further the work of Christ and bring joy to His heart, a godly woman embraces the opportunity to extend her husband's Christian witness by being a helper and pleasure to him. [Matt. 28:19; 1 Thes. 2:4; 1 Thes. 4:1; Gen. 2:18]
The Church is faithful, so a woman ought be more willing to suffer and die than to stray from her fidelity to marriage. [Hosea 2:20; Rev. 2:10; Acts. 11:23; Matt. 25:23; Eph. 1:1; Gal. 5:22]
The Church repents in faith. So a woman who sins against her husband should seek mercy and desire to be restored quickly, trusting that her husband will be gracious. [1 John 1:9; Psa. 32:5; Eph. 4:26-17]
The Church communes with and desires the presence of Christ, so a woman should eagerly desire true intimacy, affection, and companionship with her husband. [1 Thes. 5:10; Col. 3:4; Phil. 1:23]
The ideal Church is hard working. So should women be willing to work as an expression of love, whether by caring for the needs of others directly, or by earning income to contribute toward the furtherance of the ministry of love. [2 Thes. 3:8; 1 Cor. 15:58; John 6:27; Prov. 31:10-20; Phil 4:3]
The Church speaks well of Christ, and a woman ought, if at all possible, to esteem the best aspects of her husband. She should praise God publicly for His grace through her husband, whether he has been enabled to provide for, protect, or comfort the family. [Heb. 2:12; Phil. 4:8; Acts 4:20]
The Church is known for her gratitude to God for Christ, with all His providence and love. Even so, a woman stands out when she is grateful and expressive of her thankfulness to God for any blessings she receives, whether through her husband or other circumstances. [1 Thes. 5:18]
The ideal Church beautifies herself for the return of Christ, desiring to be clothed in the gorgeous apparel of godliness when he comes. So ideally, a woman desires to be clothed in loving kindness as often as she meets her husband, and beautifies herself as a generous act of favor to him. [Rev. 21:9-11; Song 4:1; Song 4:9-10; Song 5:10; Rev. 21:2; Rev. 19:7]
Finally, and most importantly of all, the Church knows she falls short of her goals every day. What sets her apart from the world is that she trusts Christ to love her graciously; this faith becomes the fountain of her joy and renewed love. Even so, a woman is truly desirable when she is honest about her faults, yet trusts God to kindle her husband's love, simply because the Lord is kind and knows she needs to be loved. Ideally, she leans on the mercy of her husband, seeing grace as the foundation and whole axis of their relationship. The ideal woman is willing to give and to receive undeserved kindness, forgiveness, and affection. [Heb. 4:16; Heb. 8:12; Luke 6:36; Psa. 57:1; ]
So, there you have it, an ideal. Is any woman all of those things? Doubtful, not perfectly at least. Should men wait then forever for one matching that whole list? No, I don't think so! But I think men would be blessed to pray, asking their Heavenly Father to fashion for them one who aims in that direction. I believe the only trait that absolutely must be present in a woman is faith that Christ has and will always continue to receive her graciously, transforming her heart more and more to love. Everything else is a bonus.
Lastly, for the record, I think men have an even higher calling than women, in regards to character. Should we all feel burdened and miserable by a list like this? No! As Christians, we believe God "works in us, both to will and to do according to what pleases Him," [Phil 2:13] His work isn't finished in one day. We should be excited to think who He is making us to become!
Blessings to you all.
— M:.
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© Michael Spotts:. 2011
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You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this article in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and that you do not charge any fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For printed copies, as well as web posting, please include the following statement:
By M. Benjamin Spotts:.
Copyright © The Open Life
www.theopenlife.com
Titus 3:3-8
© Michael Spotts:. 2011
———————
You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this article in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and that you do not charge any fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For printed copies, as well as web posting, please include the following statement:
By M. Benjamin Spotts:.
Copyright © The Open Life
www.theopenlife.com
Titus 3:3-8
2 comments:
Great post, Mike.
Finally read your article this morning and was VERY encouraged and challenged.
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