Jabez's Mother

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.

Imagine the little Jabez (One who brings sorrow) playing around the house, happy and minding his own business. He is unaware of the pain that his mother is going through. Every time she looks at Jabez, she is reminded of the pain she had to go through for him to be born. What type of pain could Jabez had caused his mother at birth. Was he conceived as a result of rape or sexual assault?  Was the mother rejected by a boyfriend when he realised she was pregnant. Was the child fathered by a married man who when she fell pregnant, advised her to abort the child?

Now here she is all by herself trying to raise this child, no emotional, financial support from the child’s father. She could have opted to abort the child or to give the child away for adoption.  Today’s society is full of such women; rejection is the order of the day.

The answer to these women’s problem is found when we examine the way Jesus treated every woman He met. Instead of pigeonholing women the way society had, He looked at each woman as unique. No one ever heard Jesus trivialize one of their problems by calling it a” woman-thing.” He didn’t smooth-talk women, or flatters them to get their attention. And He didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear—He told them what they needed to know.

What’s more, He did not believe what many of the women thought about themselves, because so often their own view had been grossly distorted by others. What Jesus did was to focus His attention on each woman’s greatest need, and then He met that need—in ways they never expected. Jesus taught women to look beyond their outward appearance for acceptance. He showed them they were valuable when others said they were worthless. He challenged the rules that bound them and broke down the walls of prejudice that entrapped them.

Even when a woman was labelled a “failure,” He believed she could be more than her broken past. Most importantly, Jesus gave unconditional love to every woman no matter what her past history, present condition, or future prospects. He was a Man ahead of His time, a Renaissance Man who understood what loving a woman all was about. This is why the women stayed with Him. And the longer they stayed, the more they grew to love Him and to love themselves.

When you are accepted just the way you are, encouraged to reach your potential, and empowered to follow your dreams, don’t you feel loved? If you long for a love that restores your self-worth…gives you purpose…fills you to overflowing…and never lets you go, then I invite you to come meet The Man Who Loves Women - Jesus