The Calling & Ministry of A Wife & Mother

BANGALORE, India - Feb. 28, 2014 - PRLog -- [This is an abridged version. Pl visit www.apcwo.org for full content]

Common conceptions of women today on marriage and motherhood are:
Women don’t want to be controlled. They want to go out into the wild, explore and create opportunities for themselves. They don't want to be domesticated, for the one basic reason that they don't believe this is the end for them.
Some women are ambitious and industrious and marriage is like a tie down
It's a total waste of time, energy and money and the whole concept of monogamy and staying faithful is very hard for a lot of people, especially our generation Children are a demand on time, attention and resource.
Womanhood and motherhood are not one and the same. It should be defined according to what brings you happiness The radical feminist movement has damaged the morale of many women and in turn the damage they have done has convinced men to relinquish their Biblical authority in the home thereby setting them up for more damage and radically falling outside the call and ministry of what God intends for them as women.

The Bible’s view of women
The bible pays respect to women and is far from demeaning or belittling women.
1. Like men,  women bear the stamp of God’s own image Gen 1:27 Gen 5: 1-2
2. Wives are seen as respected partners and cherished companions to their husbands not as slaves Gen 2:20-24 Prov 19:14
3. God commanded children to honor both father and mother Ex 20:12 which Is a revolutionary concept in the time when most cultures were dominated by men and household were ruled by men while women were regarded as lesser creatures.
4. Women are by no means marginalized or relegated to a second class status Gal 3:28
5. The Bible acknowledges and celebrates the priceless value of a virtuous woman Prov 31
6. Marriage is seen as a joint inheritance (1 Peter 3:7)and parenthood as a partnership where both father and mother are to be revered and obeyed by the children Lev 19:3
7. In proverbs (Proverbs 8) wisdom is personified as a woman and the New Testament church is likewise represented as a woman- the bride of Christ

God's design for wives/mothers [full content available at our website]

1 Designed to love

2 Designed to be a helper

3 Designed to be submissive

4 Designed to be a companion

5 Designed to be virtuous

6 Be managers of the household

7 Primary responsibility is to raise children

Practical ways to live out God's design as a wife/ mother

1. The core of your life: Matt 22:37 “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
The core of your life is not serving your husband or your children- it is to be in submission to the Lord.  For you to be the kind of wife that God has designed you to be, you have to live your life in submission to what He wants for you.

2. Your worth comes from the Lord Prov 3:26 - For the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
Self worth does not come from what you have established in your home or in your workplace or in the lives of your husband or children. Many wives and mothers lament about their worth because of their current circumstances in their marriage or some instances in their past. They beat themselves to believe they are worthless and liken themselves to doormats.  One of the reasons is that they have not realized their actual worth lies in what God has spoken about them.
Women may see their paychecks as representing independence and achievement. Paycheck can also become a symbol of self-worth, the downside being the exchange for time formerly allotted to work for the family.

A wife is portrayed in Scripture far from being worthless, but compared to the greatest inheritance that could be given by man. "Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord" (Prov. 19:14).

3. Complement your husband: "Two are better than one...woe to him who is alone" (Ecc. 4:9.10).
To fulfill God's design for you as a wife will entail understanding where and how you can complement to your husband. To determine this, you must find out where your husband needs help, support, or your team effort. Finding this need and meeting it is fundamental to experiencing the satisfaction God intends for you as a wife. This need will most likely change from day to day, but God wants to give you eyes to see the need and a heart to fulfill it.

4. Living in understanding: but a prudent wife is from the Lord" (Prov. 19:14).
God commands husbands to dwell with their spouses "with understanding, giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel" (1 Peter 3:7). But, notice in the passage in Proverbs 19:14 that you a wife is required to be understanding too. These two verses balance each other and encourage both spouses to give one of the most essential qualities for a good marriage; understanding.

5. Subdue your desires to rule and control over your husband: "For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church" (Eph. 5:23).
God has given your husband the position as the head and leader within the family.  This means that he is the one who has the ultimate responsibility for your family before God. Just like there can be no two heads on a physical body – it leads to disharmony and confusion

6. Building your home Proverbs 14:1The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish one pulls it down with her hands.
Are we building up our house (family, husband, and children)? Or are we pulling them down with our words, our actions? Do we bad mouth our husbands to our friends? Or do we speak well of our husbands/ children. The way we speak of them will colour how we see them over time.
Eph 4:29 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

7. Be quick to forgive and quick to repent: Eph 4: 26-27 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.
As a wife/ mother, you have a choice to harbor offense and let your heart become hardened or you can remember to how patient and forgiving God is with you and forgive your husband and children .
The Bible says that "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6) It is so important in your relationship with your family and with God that you be willing to humble yourself and ask for forgiveness when you are wrong, or have acted in an unloving way.

Conclusion: We may be in different seasons of our marriage & family- instead of you attempting or wishing to change those around you God is looking to pour His generous grace into your situation just as God has promised that He is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work (2 Cor 9:8). Look to God because His grace will meet you at your point of need. Rest in His assurance while He works in your marriage and family

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