Proverbs 31:30

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." I am blessed beyond measure. For reasons unbeknownst to me, God took it upon himself to grace me with the most extraordinary wife I could have ever dreamed of. I certainly do not deserve the gift of all she is because I fall painstakingly short of being all that God calls me to be as her husband. Nonetheless, he chose her for me and vice versa…and what a journey it has been for the time I have known her! When I first met my wife, Amber, I was struck immediately by four dominant characteristics: 1. Her Beauty; 2. Her Sweetness; 3. Her Sense of Humor; and 4. Her Honesty. In retrospect though, I am continually amazed about what most people admire the most about her, which undoubtedly is her faith in Jesus Christ. When I first met her, we discussed our mutual Christian faith. But as time progressed and we began getting to know one another better, all the things I loved about her became a distant second to her unshakeable faith and un-apologetic belief in the Word of God. God knew I needed a strong woman to share my life with, but I had no idea that He would use her more than anything or anyone else to sharpen my faith, hold me accountable, and mold me into the man of God that I am today (Proverbs 27:17). The issue of faith is paramount to the success of a marriage because love must be at the center. Scripture clarifies this point in 1 John 4:7: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." This is crucial to understanding the role of God in marriage because in order to love your spouse, you must have the love of Christ within you. Otherwise, how would you know what self-sacrificing love is? God calls a man and woman (Genesis 2:24) in marriage to love like he loves. And the only way we can learn how to do that is to fill our minds with the wisdom of God’s Word and more importantly apply that understanding into every facet of our lives. That is the essence of Godliness highlighted in Proverbs 31:30 that the Bible considers greater that any other skill, talent or attribute a woman has. In a world filled with and consumed by outer beauty and adornment, the Bible defines in 1 Peter 3:4 what God expects out of his daughters: “But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” I am so thankful that God’s will for my life included Amber because as time passes, I cannot remember life without her and more importantly, through her example I experience the person of Jesus Christ on a daily basis.