The Path of Love
An excellent wife is the crown of her husband – Proverbs 12:4a NKJV.
Choosing the path of love can often be a difficult path because we are imperfect creatures who can make foolish and even stupid mistakes. These mistakes, many times, result in marriages coming to an end. For some situations it may even be for the best, and I have seen some marriages that are filled with abuse and sin that need to end for one in the marriage to survive.
I had a friend whose daughter was killed by an abusive husband. The husband hit her on the head with the butt of a rifle. It is not known whether she was dead at that time or whether she died after he dumped her out of the car in front of a hospital. Did she die then, laying there without help, only feet from where she could have gotten help? If her husband had taken her inside, would she have gotten help and lived? No one knows. The husband eventually received just four years in prison for that murder. As I said, some marriages may need to come to an end.
The words, excellent wife, in Proverbs 12:4 is literally “woman of valor.” I think that “woman of valor” expresses the idea that wives, at least excellent wives will need courage. It takes courage to continue on when the way becomes hard. If the husband become ill, or is hurt in some way, it takes courage for the wife to stand by her man. It takes courage for a wife to stand up for her husband when he is unfairly attacked, or to be steadfast when he loses his job or faces some other adversity.
It takes even more courage to extend forgiveness when the husband makes sinful mistakes or just can’t seem to get things right at times. Courage, valor, is the path of love that is not easy, but it is the path that God blesses!
My wife is an excellent wife, a woman of valor. When I saw my wife in June of 1969 God spoke to me and said that she would be a “good wife,” He wasn’t kidding! Jeanie has stood beside me through the ups and downs of life and offered forgiveness more times than I can remember. When I had three car accidents in one year, she was there to support me. When I lost three jobs in one year and was without work for several months, she stood beside me. When I’ve been sick and in the hospital, she was there praying for me, helping me. When I surrendered to the ministry, she did the same with her support and encouragement. Through all of our 54 years of marriage she has been an excellent wife, a woman of valor!
That is the path of love. It is a path that takes courage and valor not only for the wife but also for the husband. Take the path of love!