Jesus was not married.

But let's suppose for a minute what His actions as a Spouse would look like.

• Jesus would inspire total confidence in his spouse as He did to His disciples.
• Jesus would be a good listener, He never did all the talking, He appreciated feedback.
• Jesus would be a servant. He knew he was going to die the next day, and yet he washed the disciples' feet while they argued with each other.
• Jesus would be so dominant that other people would never be seen. False. He exercises his dominance by encouraging people to go into the world to work.
• Jesus would manage his home well. We expect marriages within the church to be even better than what Jesus has! How ironic! Do we think we deserve more than he does?
• Jesus would be tolerant and accommodating. Everybody he came in contact with was treated with respect and He was never judgmental.
• Jesus would easily forgive. He loved sinners but hated the sin
• Jesus would be absolutely Loyal, Faithful, Holy to His God and Partner.

Excerpts from ‘Priced above rubies’ by Pastor Bimbo Odukoya

1. God fearing: Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain but a woman that fears the Lord shall be praised. Proverbs 31vs 30.

   And behold one came and said to him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?

   And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments [Matthew 19:17].

   Perhaps what informed this opinion was the young mans’ observation of the good works Jesus did. He must have concluded that only a good man or woman could be empowered with the innate ability to do good as Jesus did. Contrary to his opinion however, Jesus responded to the young man’s supposition by positing that goodness is an attribute of God, thus only God could be qualified as “good”. Therefore whosoever desires to be good must be empowered by God; he must know God and walk in his commandments. In other words you cannot be good without God.

   The first quality of a ‘good’ woman therefore is the knowledge and fear of God borne out of a relationship with him through the saving grace of His Son, Jesus Christ! A good woman is one who has submitted her life to Christ and has chosen to walk and live only by the commandments of GOD.

 

2. Godly character: A good woman is one whose attractiveness goes beyond her outward beauty. True beauty has to do with the inner qualities of a person and as they say, it goes skin-deep. A good woman is a woman of integrity.

   Godly character traits like honesty, patience, gentleness, generosity, the loveliness of a smile and the brightness of the eyes tell of the beauty of a woman from the inside.

   A woman who is always joyful is beautiful. A woman who is gentle and kind and understanding is beautiful. If you are going to work on yourself, you must work on your inside, your integrity and your character.

   A good woman is the one who has learnt to grow and nuture the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5 vs 22.

   Uncouth behaviour and foul language will rob you of great opportunities in life and could destroy your destiny.

 

3. A wholesome tongue: A woman who knows how to speak good words is a wise woman but this is an area that poses a challenge to many women. What women lack in physical strength, they make up for in verbal strength. A woman may not have the power to hit back at her husband, but she does it very succinctly with her words and many women have lost their homes because of words spoken in anger. Words can build or destroy. That is why Proverbs 4 vs 24 says “Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk from your lips.”

   Learn to listen. You need to listen before you talk and when you do you should learn to pick your words carefully. Learn to keep quiet when your husband is talking.

   Proverbs 10 vs 11 says “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.” Let every word you utter bring forth life. When your words are positive, there is no man who would not want to live with you. If you want to be a good wife or mother you must learn to control anger because anger is often the reason we err in words.

 

4. A Praying heart: I do not know of any successful wife or mother who does not regularly oil the lamp and burn the flame of prayer. You cannot succeed as a wife, a mother or indeed in anything at all without the prayer of faith.

   Prayer is the act of submission not to man but to God. It is the means by which you acknowledge your frailty and the fact that you cannot succeed on your own. It is the heart of man crying out to God for help.

   Woman, there is no alternative to prayer. Prayer will move mountains and fill valleys; it will smoothen the rough and make straight the crooked. Prayer will reveal hidden secrets and take you to heights unknown.

   Prayer puts you at the feet of Jesus; sets your place at the table of the Lord and gives you the power to cancel every plan of the enemy.

 

5. A forgiving Spirit: The challenge we often have as women is that we want to prove that the other person is wrong while we are right.

   When we choose to do things our way, instead of following God’s instructions, it ends up in regrets because God is always right.

   The bible says in Galatians 5vs 22 that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace. A woman who harbors unforgiveness in her heart does not walk in love. And when you are not walking in love, you are walking against love, joy and peace and doing what is wrong. In such a situation you are the one with a problem.

Unforgiveness robs you of your joy and peace. It is a fight against yourself. It robs you of your relationship with your husband and other people. Nobody likes to be around someone who is full of offences.