Just as the
church is a metaphor Jesus’ body, (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), the Bible also
draws a parallel between a wife and her husband’s body. Ephesians 5:28-30 says:
“So husbands ought also to love their
own wives as their own bodies… for no one ever hated his own flesh, but
nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are
members of His body.”
Just as Jesus
accomplishes His will through the church, many of the greatest works and godly
dreams a man is meant to accomplish in his life are actually meant to be
accomplished through his wife.
Think for
moment about how Jesus and the church function. Jesus is the Head. He casts the
overall vision for His family (through the Word, the Great Commission, and the
Holy Spirit). His bride, the church, is then responsible for carrying it out.
However, she continually consults with Him and asks for help through prayer.
In the same
way, a husband is the head of the home. He is responsible for casting an
overall vision for His family’s spiritual growth. However, the wife (typically)
is primarily responsible for carrying out the daily routine and practical
details in the home. However, she regularly consults with her husband and asks
for help as needed.
1 Timothy 2:15
says, “But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if
they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.”
The word translated “preserved” in the NASB is translated “saved”
in several other versions and is the same Greek word typically used for eternal
salvation.
Do you remember
I wrote in an earlier chapter that a husband’s “crown” is his wife and that
he needs her to fulfill his calling? Do you remember I said he is more
vulnerable to the enemy and prone to deception if he does not cover her, serve
her, and listen to her input? Well, 1 Timothy 2:15 continues this logic by
moving to the next level of authority in God’s hierarchy for family. According
to the passage, a woman’s children are not just her crown; they are her salvation!
Just like a man needs his wife, a woman needs her children to
become who she is called to be. She will be more vulnerable to the enemy and
prone to deception if she does not cover, serve, and lead them.
It’s true that
some women are called to singleness and/or childlessness. However, if a woman
chooses childlessness not because of a calling but because she esteems our
culture’s family-hostile values more than God’s values, this is dangerous
indeed. The same is true of a mother who neglects her children or abdicates her
responsibility to others.
This can apply to
fathers as well. The truth is that we need our children as much as they need
us. In our flesh we gravitate toward self-centeredness, but parenthood teaches
us to put others first. Women were created to raise children. God releases
grace for personal transformation when we do what we were created for. However,
if we turn away from it, that grace may not come any other way.
When children
grow up and leave the home, it is can be an invitation for a woman to enter her
most fruitful season. In one sense, everything in her life up to this point has
prepared her for it. There is a reason women typically go through a much longer
waiting / training period than men before becoming fully devoted to their
outside-the-home callings. God often intends to entrust them with more
influence than their husbands. This does not necessarily mean her influence will be more
visible, but it may be more impactful. Even influence exercised
privately through prayer can impact an entire church, city, or nation.
There is
character-shaping power in motherhood. The patience and perseverance required
to raise godly children is better training than any seminary. When an empty
nest season comes, a man may need to take a step back from his own pursuits to
help launch his wife as she discovers the ministry God has spent more than half
a lifetime preparing her for.
What about
women who long to become mothers but are never given the chance because of life
circumstances? Does the Bible offer any words of solace?
I’ve often
pondered Psalms 113:9, which says, “He makes the barren woman abide in the
house as a joyful mother of children.” To me, this verse clearly has a
kingdom age context because the verses just before it describe the resurrection
and exaltation of saints to positions of authority over the earth: “He
raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make
them sit with princes, with the princes of His people.” The
chapter also describes the Lord as being established “high above all
nations”, which will be overtly fulfilled during the millennial kingdom.
Think of all
the children throughout world history that died prematurely and went to heaven
because they were not old enough to be held accountable for choosing or
rejecting the Lord. Will their mental and emotional development instantly
advance to that of an adult when they arrive in heaven, or do they still
undergo a maturation process and require adult nurturers? At the resurrection,
will they be given physical bodies corresponding to the age they died or will they
be given adult bodies? Also, is it possible at the second coming there will be
countless orphaned children on earth who survived the chaos of the last days
and need resurrected saint nurturers to help raise them? I don’t know the
answer to any of these questions with certainty, but Psalm 113:9 seems to give
strong hope to childless women who might otherwise fear they lost their only
chance for motherhood.
In the next
chapter, we will examine the life of a woman who I believe is one of the
greatest saints in scripture.