Recently, my wife and I were blessed with the birth of a baby girl, Leah May Gibson. We now have two daughters — Alli is three years old. As any father is likely to do, I've done some thinking about what the future holds for my two daughters. Here are some things I want for my girls, things I believe God wants for them, too.

I want my daughters to be beautiful on the inside. It's not that I want them to neglect their outward appearance; it's just that there are some things far more important. I want them to be clothed with "strength and honor" (Prov. 31:25), and with a "meek and quiet spirit" (1 Pet. 3:3-5). I want them to have the kind of beauty that never fades. In looking through the New Testament I see many qualities I would love for my daughters to have. I want them to be poor in spirit, meek, merciful, compassionate, tenderhearted, for-giving, kind, longsuffering, pure in heart, and patient. I want them to hunger and thirst after righteousness. I want them to mourn when they sin. I want them to learn to rejoice, even in the midst of difficult times. 1 want them to learn what it means to be truly content. In short, I want them to be like Christ, which should be the goal of every faithful Christian.

I want them to marry faithful Christians. I want this, partly, for selfish reasons. I want my daughters to be treated well, and if they marry faithful Christians, they will be. If married to faithful Christians, they will be loved as Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25). They will have unselfish husbands (Phil. 2:3-4). They will have husbands who not only tell them they love them, but who show them as well (1 John 3:16-18). But there are other reasons for wanting them to marry faithful Christians. I want them to marry someone with whom they can pray. I want them to marry someone who will want the same things for the children as they do.

I want them to marry someone with whom they can be fellow-workers in the kingdom of God, a husband and wife team like that of Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:24-26; 1 Cor. 16:19; Rom. 16:3-4).

I want them to be good wives. Each will need to understand her role of submission in this relationship (Eph. 5:22-24, 33). Each will need to look out for the interests of her husband, as well as her own (Phil. 2:3-4). Each will need to show her husband she loves him (1 John 3:18). Each will need to do her husband good as long as she lives (Prov. 31:12).

I want them to be good mothers. I want them to see the importance God places on bringing up children (1 Tim. 2:11-15). I want them to be like the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31, who was very attentive to her children's needs. I want them to be like Hannah, who said of her son Samuel, "I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life" (1 Sam. 1:11). I want them to be like Eunice, who taught her son Timothy the Scriptures from childhood (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14-15).

I want them to be ready to do good for others. I want them to be like the virtuous woman who "extends her hands to the poor . . . reaches out her hands to the needy" (Prov. 31:20).1 want them to be like Dorcas, who was "full of good works and charitable deeds" (Acts 9:36); like Phoebe, who was "a helper of many" (Rom. 16:1-2). I want them to be the kind of women who have "diligently followed every good work" (1 Tim. 5:10).

Finally, I want my daughters (as well as my sons) to go to heaven. If they can do the things mentioned earlier in this article, they will be well on their way.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 6 p. 18
March 20, 1997