Of course you know what I'm going to comment on today, right? How could I possibly pass over Proverbs 31:10-31 and the call to be virtuous women? However... this morning I'm going to consider things a little differently than usual. Rather than thinking about the qualities that we as women of God should cultivate or strive for, I'm thinking about the church...
I see this chapter as a call to the bride of Christ... a call to the church that we should be, especially in these last days.
Who can find a faithful church, a faithful bride? I see the Lord looking down from heaven asking, can I trust her with My heart? Will she do me good and not evil? Will she be faithful? Will she work for me? Will she work even in the night seasons when all seems dark and discouraging? Will she go to distant lands for me? Will she plant seeds for My kingdom? Will she keep oil in her lamp so that her candle does not go out at night when everyone else is slumbering? Will she have a heart for the poor and those that don't know me? Will strength and honor truly be her clothing?
I see the Lord saying...
This is my church, my bride. This is the woman whose price is far above rubies. This is the woman whose children (spiritual children) arise up and call her blessed, and I (the Lord) will also praise her and bless her. For her beauty is not just an outward adorning. Outward beauty is vain. But it is the woman who loves and fears me that is truly beautiful, and she shall truly be honored and praised... Just see the fruit of her hands (the fruit that she bears through me). Her fruit testifies of her love for me. Let her works praise her! Blessed is such a woman! This is my bride, this is my love, this is my church!
Isn't that beautiful. I'm sure we could go so much deeper in this picture of the bride of Christ, but even this overview inspires me so much. I also see in the story of the Proverbs 31 woman many of Christ parables put together. The man who buys the field, the sewer who sows good seed, the woman who looks for the lost coin, the parable of the wise (not the foolish) virgins, the one who does not hide their candle under a bushel, and the illustrations go on.
Let us (both men and women... I know this seems strange) strive to be such a bride to Christ. Let us be His virtuous church!
Tomorrow's Reading: Eccl. 1-3 and 2 Thes. 2
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