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Who Can
Find a
Virtuous
Husband
and
Father?
Much is
said
about
the
“virtuous
wife”
found in
Proverbs
31,
and her fame is well noted. The world would be a wonderful
place to
live if
all
women
could be
thusly
described.
There
would be
a lot of
happy
husbands
and
children.
This
virtuous
wife
needs a
“virtuous
husband”
to be
complete.
When Adam was presented with the wife God had created for
him, he said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my
flesh” (Genesis 2:23). God completed the ceremony: “Therefore
shall a
man
leave
his
father
and his
mother,
and
shall
cleave
unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).
What a
beautiful
picture
God
painted
for the
world to
pattern
husbands and wives after! One flesh; hearts pulsing as one;
with
love as
the
cohesion
binding
them
together
with the
attributes of God Himself.
What a
sad
picture
the man
and
woman
painted
for the
rest o
f the
world to
pattern
after!
Rebellion
and
deceit
brought
the
awesome
family
portrait
to ruin.
It
became
dark and
ugly,
and
the
results
of that
rebellion
have
followed
men and
women
from that time onward.
Is that
the end
of the
story!
NO! By
no
means!
It
cannot
be used
as an excuse and escape from the purity of that first marriage
that God
performed.
God’s
foreknowledge
of the
fall of
the
first
family
set in
motion
the
means of
redeeming
all of
the
fallen race that had walked in the pattern set by Adam and Eve.
A new
picture
emerges.
It is
beautiful,
ugly,
awesome
and
redeeming. See the beautiful of the Baby born in a barn in
Bethlehem;
His
ugly,
terrible
death on
the
cross
and His
glorious
resurrection
bringing
redemption
and
restoration
to the
brokenness
of man.
God gave
the
prophesy
in
Genesis
3:15:
The head of the offending serpent who was responsible for
distorting
the
family
portrait
of God’s
creation
when he
bruised
the heel of the “Seed” now lies crushed by that same heel
of the
“Seed.”
This new
picture
cannot
be
changed;
it is
mounted
with
eternity.
So,
where
can we
find a
virtuous
husband
to
complement
the
virtuous wife and be a virtuous father? Look now and see the
husband
God
planned
for her.
It all
begins
with
Ephesians
5:18,
“…Be filled with the Spirit.” If there is a “secret,” that is it.
Being
filled
with the
Spirit
brings
favorable
fruit
into his
life.
These
attributes
can be
used to
describe
God’s
man and
are made
to fit
the wife
as well.
The
“buds”
of the
fruit
are
present
when he
is filled with the Spirit, waiting for development as the man
submits
the rule
of the
Spirit.
At the
top of
the list
is
“Love.”
We would
not be
remiss
by
calling
it the trunk from which the branches spring. Jesus said He was
the vine (trunk), and we know that God is love. It appears
that all
the
other
fruit
spring
from the
trunk of
Love.
Love is
the
distinctive mark of a virtuous man, the logo of Christ. This is
not human love that limits itself to “if, when, because and until.”
Its life
substance
comes
from the
root
source
which is
God. It
loves “in spite of, regardless and forever.” It has the will to
love; to
love his
wife and
his
children
as
Christ
loves
him
and gives him the ability to love likewise.
Joy is
another
bud
waiting
to
develop
in its
fullness.
This is
not
related
to
happiness
which is
temporal
and
fleeting
based on
what is
happening.
It
springs
forth
from the
well of
the
indwelling Spirit. Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that “the joy of
the Lord is your strength.” If this joy comes from the Lord,
then it
is
constant
and not
reliant
on what
is
happening.
This
joy brings contentment to the wife of the virtuous man.
It makes
his
children
happy
when he
comes
home.
A
virtuous
wife and
her
children
need to
be
treated
with
longsuffering, gentleness and meekness. Imperfection in them
will
display
his
longsuffering
and
tolerance
that
Christ
has
shown
the husband and father who has the same deficit. They are a
work-in-progress since rarely are any two people on the same
Spiritual growth level. He gently helps his wife instead of pointing
out her
imperfections
while
she is
growing
just
like God
is
teaching
him through his own growth. He accepts the responsibility of
fatherhood
and
teaches
Godly
attributes
to his
children.
His
meekness
never
makes
arrogant
proclamations
that the
family must bow down to without regard to their uniqueness.
He knows
that his
strength
comes
from his
relationship
with
God,
not his
own
might
and
abilities
no
matter
how
talented
he may
be.
On of
the most
desirable
fruits
in a
relationship
is
faithfulness.
The bud
of
faithfulness
is from
the
branch
that
gets its
essence
from
the
faithfulness
of God.
Every
commitment
will be
honored
faithfully.
The wife will never have any reason to doubt his fidelity just as
he never has to doubt the faithfulness of God. She will never
have to wonder if he will be faithful to the end; because the
husband’s
bud is
like the
Master
Plant
who will
be with
him
always,
even to
the end
of the
world.
His
children
know
that
they
will
always
be able
to
depend
on their
father
to
be the
faithful
dad that
God
planned
for
them.
Lastly,
look at
the bud
of
temperance.
The
virtuous
husband
and
father
has
self-control.
Though
many
temptations
will
give him
opportunities
to act
and
react
according
to the
desires
of his
flesh,
he will
not. He
is
reliant
on the
Holy
Spirit
to
control
his
every
move. Though he will be tested many times, he will always
remember that God is faithful and will not allow him to be
tempted above his ability to be an over comer through Him
who gives him strength. By his example, he will teach his
children about the fruit of self-control.
As the
virtuous
husband
and
father
continues
to grow
and
develop
the buds of the fruit that are within him, placed there by the Holy
Spirit, his family will observe that the buds are developing into
a beautiful picture like God produced in the beginning with Adam
and Eve
before
they
rebelled.
The
family
portrait
can be
hung
back on
the wall
of their
home
with
gratitude
and
humility
at
what God has wrought.
Who can
find a
virtuous
husband
and
father?
Just
look for
one
who is
filled
with the
Spirit
and
bearing
fruit of
the
Spirit.
He
will be there in the new picture nurturing his virtuous wife
and
guiding
his
children
toward
spiritual
maturity
in
the
family
orchard.
(Paraphrasing
Proverbs
31:27-31)
The
virtuous
husband
and
father looks well to the ways of his household. His children rise
up and call him blessed; his wife also and praises him. Many
men have done virtuously but he excels them all. A man that fears
the Lord
shall be
praised.
Let his
own good
works
praise
him in
all the
places
important
to him.
“But the
fruit of
the
Spirit
is love,
joy,
peace,
longsuffering,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
self-control…” (Galatians 5:23-23).
Delores
Adams
Copyrighted.
All
rights
reserved.
Alice's
Legacy
Remembering
Alice
The
"Handkerchief"
has been
anointed
and
prayed
over
by
several
believers
who care
about
you and
want to
help you
realize
your
full
potential
in
Christ
Jesus
Our
Lord.
~The
Ten
Commandments~
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