2007-10-12
Good Morning Dear Ones,
No discussion of mammon would be complete without delving into God's ideal woman as portrayed in PR 31:10-31. But first, let me replace us from all that has gone on in our own lives in the last week into Christ's Sermon on the Mount, the basis for examination. You'll remember that our Lord, MT 6: 24-34, deals with our inability to serve two masters, Himself and mammon. Then, He speaks of why we do not need to worry about Him providing our basic needs and finally, His assertion in (33) that we should put our attention on the Kingdom of God and what He requires of us. Remember that mammon was at first defined as the passive expression, "that which is entrusted to another's possession." By common usage, that definition was changed to the active expression, "that in which much trust in placed." Mammon is most often money, but it can be any material (earthly) thing which is easily made an idol, for a host of ungodly reasons. Now, let me pick up the thread of what the Holy Spirit leads me to write today in regard to God's ideal woman.
Interestingly enough, many of the qualities mentioned In PR 31: 10-31 apply to men too, so if you are male, don't feel as if you are excluded here. I love this portion of the book of Proverbs, because once again we have the theme of what God is saying in 22 sections, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Let look at this verse by verse, even if I'm unable to finish it this week. Aleph, PR 31: 10, "How hard it is to find a capable wife! She is worth far more than jewels!" When I read this I was immediately reminded of Christ's words in MT 6: 26, "Look at the birds flying around: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds?" The worth of a human being created in God's image [GN 1: 27] can't be calculated in units of mammon. Even the ones we don't like, are still God's creations. They can disappoint us, even hurt us with their sinfulness. But nonetheless, they are still part of God's human creation. Our Lord Jesus has suffers enormous disappointments at the hand of sinful mankind, those who steadfastly reject Him. And yet, He is teaching us to love them. MT 5: 44-45a is one of the toughest commands our Lord has ever given us. "But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the sons of your Father in heaven." I've had more than one difficult encounter with that one and wouldn't be surprised that I'm not alone in that. God doesn't give up on His hope that people making mammon their idols will one day open their hearts to obedient faith by the Holy Spirit. 2 PET 3: -9, "The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins." Getting back to PR 31: 10, one could just have easily substituted the word "husband" for "wife." He too would be worth far more than jewels, and God has blessed me with such a man in my life. In fact, I'm blessed with friends of both sexes who would surely fit this category. They are the ones who surround me and, through their examples, show me how God's goodness is brought to all who believe in Him and the Son. They also teach me how to be a better child of God. Claim PS 16:2, "I said to the Lord, 'You are my Lord. Every good thing I have comes from You.'"
Most people who have been reading my writing for awhile know the unique and unusual way that God brought me to the ministry I have today. They know that a traditionally Jewish girl with a wildly independent and disobedient spirit was taken through four major religious denominations to the place where I know serve God in full-time, voluntary ministry. They also know that along the way, the Holy Spirit opened my heart to the Lord Yeshua [Jesus Christ], but not without a lot of struggling on His part. They also know that I had a first marriage that was a 15 year disaster, came out of with no interest in ever marrying again, and then Peter Johnson came into my life. In his own sweet and reserved way, he, with God's help, melted the ice around my heart to marriage and also to what living a Christian [or in my case, Messianic Jewish] life was all about. His patience with me could have only come from the Lord, Who loves us both! God used my husband to show me by his example the truth of these two Scriptures: 2 COR 5 :17, "When anyone is joined to Christ, he is a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come." COL 3: 9-10, "Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in His own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of Himself." While I often cite these passages together in my writing, it's for an important reason. God's desire to have us eventually perfected matters to Him, because it means He can one day can carry out His and the Son's mission statements to bring us home to Him for a blissful eternal life of sweet fellowship with Him and all other believers [JN 6: 39-40; EPH 1: 4-5]. We can all believe that we are God's cherished children, because it is surely true! Praise and thanks be to Him!
PRAYER: O Lord, just as aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, we can believe that we are Your cherished ones. You outlined the relationship between married human partners in EPH 5: 21, "Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ." We are reminded in (24 -25), "And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submits itself to Christ. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave His life for it." You, Dear Lord, are the Alpha and Omega [first and last letters of the Greek alphabet] of our lives. The capable wife of PR 31: 10 certainly conforms to these commands. There is no room for a life that focuses on mammon and away from You in them. You are calling us to reorder our priorities, because You know this is the only way You can eventually bring us back to Yourself for eternity. What greater love for One's creation can there be? For anyone who has had an unhappy past, as I did, You allow such a thing to teach a stubborn, prideful, arrogant, and sinful person to want a better life. That life can only happen when You become a full-time Partner in it. Because You have commanded us "Be holy because I am holy," we must be willing to make changes in our lives to conform to the standard You set for us, that of Jesus Christ [LV 11: 44-45; LV 19: 2; 1 PET 1: 16; RO 12: 2]. By no means does any of this mean that You ignore or don't love single people. Christ spoke about the reasons why some people are not called to marry in MT 19: 12. Your love is for ALL Your creation. This is true despite the fact that sinful mankind often brings You bitter disappointment. You are a patient, compassionate, loving, God of goodness. We can become Your ideal Covenant Partners, because of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ and our own willingness to repent and believe in Him. You deserve our eternal thanks and praise for all the love You give us, in His mighty name. Amen.
Next week, I'm led to pick up with the second Hebrew letter, beit, which in this case will be PR 31: 11. Solomon, who wrote this wonderful alphabetic and prophetic view of the virtuous wife in PR 31: 10-31, gives us insight into his own mother, whom he loved enormously. Why would I say prophetic here? It is because this is also a view of the church as the Bride of Christ. I'm often asked, "Why are you so hopeful and positive when you are writing in an increasingly evil world?" Any true believer would answer that question by drawing attention to the faith we can have that God will bring us to His side in heaven to rule "as joint-heirs" with Christ [RO 8: 17]. God knew that mankind would become sinful and inherit sin through Adam and Eve. He also knew that He would have to sacrifice His only begotten Son on the cross and that sinners would have to believe in Him to give them an escape from certain spiritual death. 1 PET 1: 20-21, "He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, Who raised Him from death and gave Him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God." 1 COR 2: 7, "The wisdom I proclaim is God's secret wisdom, which is hidden from mankind, but which He has already chosen for our glory even before the world was made." When we put our faith in the Lord, we can look quite differently at the people we encounter. Instead of them being enemies, they are potential believers. So when Christ tells us to pray for our enemies, those who persecute us, He has good reason to motivate us to obey. We also have sufficient motivation to witness, looking for every opportunity He gives for this wherever we are. Feel loved and privileged to be a child of God, because our fabulous God loves each of us as only He can do. And yes, "Marana tha"-[Aramaic for "Our Lord come!" [1 COR 16: 22].
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn