Rise up and call her blessed!

Psalm 128:1-4

¹ Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in obedience to him.
² You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
⁴ Yes, this will be the blessing
for the man who fears the LORD.

In an effort to instill in my boys a sense of love and respect for their mother, as well as a sense of security that their mommy and daddy love each other, I will occasionally break out into some kind of spontaneous public display of affection.  For example, I might say “Boys, isn’t your momma beautiful!”  Or if the misses and I are exchanging a quick kiss, I might decide to point it out – “Corbin, Tripp! I’m kissin your momma!”  Since my boys are five and four, they still find this amusing and sweet, brandishing those little smiles of theirs.  I’m sure one day, this same kind of display will elicit different reactions from my boys.

Gross dad!  Yall love each other, we get it!  Cut it out!

So, this morning I was sitting at the breakfast table with the family, and was reminded of something Mark Driscoll pointed out in the parenting section of his book Trial: 8 Witnesses from 1&2 Peter. He quotes the reference in Psalm 128 to wives and children, saying that this comes to his mind every time he sits down at the table to eat.  This morning, I was struck by my wife’s beauty, and decided to engage in some pastoral parenting.  Here’s the rundown:

Me: Tripp, you know what I love?

Tripp: What?

Me: (putting my hand on Keelie’s arm) THIS GIRL!

Tripp: (pointing enthusiastically at his mommy) I love her TOO!

Corbin: (hugging his mommy) MOMMY!

Sometimes we’re loud at the table.

I’m sure all of this made Keelie feel appreciated and loved.  It also made me feel pretty good about my efforts to teach my boys to love and respect their mom.  Like the husband of Proverbs 31:28-29, I want to set the example in my home of praising my wife.  I want my children to grow up treasuring their mother, and aware of all that she does for them.

How about you, husband?  How about you, dad?  Have you told your wife lately how much you love and appreciate her?  Have you told her in front of the kids?  Why not send her an email or text right now?  Why not embarrass your teenagers when you get home tonight by kissing her in front of them?  Compliment her cooking, and ask the kids what they think.

Cherish your wife, and learn all you can about her, and honor her (1 Peter 3:7), and do so in front of the kids.

Bible in 90, Day 03: Jacob’s Devotion

Genesis 29-40

*image courtesy of haloocyn at stock.xchng

There’s one of those sentences in today’s reading that you read, pass over, and don’t think much about it unless you stop to do so.  It’s in Genesis 29:20, and it says, “So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.”

Now, my wife and I met when we were young.  I was 16, she was 15.  We were dating within about six months, and didn’t marry until we were 22 and 21 years old.  I used to think that six years was a long time to have waited for my wife.  Of course, back then, I wasn’t waiting for my wife.  I was just dating my girlfriend.  (If you ask Keelie, it may have been different for her!)  Now that we’ve been married 6½ years, it doesn’t seem quite so long.

Jacob, on the other hand, knew that Rachel was the girl for him.  He saw her, and knew right away he wanted to marry her.  When he began his seven years of service to earn the right to marry her, he was waiting for his wife!  But notice what it says – “and they seemed to him but a few days.”  Indeed, even the passage itself makes it seem this way.  We have 19 verses that cover at most a few days, and then seven years pass in one verse!

Jacob had a genuine love for Rachel, one that was shown through his dedicated service to her father.  He could have backed out at anytime, deciding to go find a wife that wouldn’t require so much effort to marry!  Instead, he showed his devotion to her by sticking it out for seven years.

As we saw, he ended up getting tricked by his father-in-law, and had to serve another seven years to get Rachel.  So, in actuality, he spent fourteen years of his life working for another man just for the privilege calling Rachel his wife!

That’s devotion!

I hope and pray that I show that kind of devotion to my wife.  I know I didn’t during our dating years as an ignorant teenage guy.  My hope is that every Christian man would show that kind of devotion to his wife, and that every Christian woman would expect that kind of devotion before marrying a man.

Let’s show our love through our actions.  Whether it’s our family, our friends, our brothers and sisters in Christ, or our loved ones; let’s give them our devotion.  God showed His love to us by sending us His Son, and we ought to love each other in the same manner: with our actions (1 John 4).

Originally at Words of Reason

Bible in 90, Day 64: Did she ever say, “Shazam!”?

Daniel 9-Hosea 14

image courtesy of xymonau at stock.xchng

I married the most amazing woman I’ve ever known on June 7, 2003.  Since that time, we have prayed that God would glorify Himself through our marriage and through our family.  We want to have a home that displays God’s glory.  Keelie and I want our marriage to accurately reflect the relationship to Christ and the church as much as is possible within our limitations as fallen people.  In this way, we hope that our marriage and family are a picture of the gospel to everyone we meet.

God had a different plan for Hosea’s family.  He commanded Hosea to take an adulterous woman, Gomer, as his wife.  He then had him give his three children names that reflected the coming judgment of God.  When Gomer chased after other men, God had Hosea go and redeem her and bring her back into his home.  Hosea continued to show love to a woman who blatantly abused his love.

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

Much like Ezekiel, God used Hosea’s life and actions to paint a vivid picture for Israel.  Hosea’s marriage to Gomer represented God’s relationship to Israel.  Just as Gomer chased after other men and committed adultery with them, so Israel had chased after other gods to commit spiritual adultery with them.  Just as Hosea remained faithful to Gomer and even wooed her back, so God continued to love Israel, calling her back to repentance.

God’s love for His people is greater than we can imagine.  Many of us would not fault Hosea if he had forsaken his adulterous wife and started over again with a woman who really loved him.  But God deliberately put Hosea into this position to demonstrate the depths of His love and the lengths to which He will go to bring a wayward sinner back into His love.  I believe that marriages can be saved more often than we give them a chance to be saved, but God’s love is greater than even the love of a man and wife.  His love is faithful and endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34, etc.).

Let’s never forget the depths of God’s love.  Let’s remember that no matter how unfaithful we’ve been, if we turn back to Him, He will show His love and forgiveness for us again.  Let’s also remember that God expects us to show that same love to others.  If we’ve experienced the grace and forgiveness of God for all of our sin, how can we withhold forgiveness from someone who has wronged us (Matthew 18:21-35)?

couldn’t resist the Gomer Pyle references! 😉

originally at Words of Reason

Bible in 90, Day 46: Who can find?

Proverbs 20-Ecclesiastes 2

*image courtesy of bjearwicke at stock.xchng

About 13 years ago, I met the woman of my dreams… only I didn’t know it!  I was 16 years old, and when I first saw her I assumed she was about 25.  Beyond being older than me, she was way out of my league.  She was beautiful, smart, funny, nice, well-dressed.

Yeah, she’d never bother with me!

Well, about 6½ years later, we got married.  That was a little over 6 years ago now, and I love her more than ever.  She is the woman I always wanted, before I even knew what I wanted.  She has given me two wonderful boys, she has encouraged me through a college degree and seminary, she has nurtured my talents (even talents I didn’t know I had!), she has forgiven me, she has maintained a wonderful home, and she is largely responsible for the man I am today.

Back when we were dating, she sat down with me at a park and read Proverbs 31 to me.  I had never read Proverbs 31, and at the time it made little sense to me.  She told me that this was the kind of woman she wanted to be.  Again, I was clueless, but looking back now I see where she made a deliberate decision at that time in her life, and took the steps needed to make it happen.  She has truly become the Proverbs 31 woman.

Proverbs 31:10-31 is another acrostic.  Each line begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, giving us the ideal woman from A-Z.  So what is this woman like?  She loves her husband.  She serves him (not as a slave, but in love), and does good to him.  She always has his best interest in mind.It’s interesting to note that while discussing this ideal woman, it is mentioned that her husband is an official in the town (v. 23).  Behind every good man is a good woman!

She is a hard worker.  She is industrious.  She knows how to make things, and where to get her supplies.  She takes care of her family.  She is prepared for tough times.  She is strong.  She is wise.  She is praised by her family.  And most importantly, she fears the Lord.

The obvious application here is to young women.  For you, aspire to be like this woman.  Ruth serves as an example of this kind of ideal woman, and in the Hebrew Bible, the book of Ruth follows right after Proverbs.  For the rest of us, let’s praise the noble women in our lives.  If you are married to one (like me), then be sure to praise her as she deserves.  Make sure she knows she is loved.  Rise up and bless her!  If you are living with a noble mom, you also be sure to praise her.  Don’t wait for Mother’s Day!  Honor her each day, especially in the small things like obedience and respect.  But don’t forget to voice your love and praise as well.

*originally at Words of Reason