FrontLine: September/October 2015 — The Law of Kindness
September/October 2015 | VOLUME 25 | NUMBER 5
The Law of Kindness
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Proverbs 31:26
Becky Vaughn
As the editor of FrontLine, my dad enjoys a ministry of encouraging Fundamental Baptists to express themselves in print and to provide edifying articles from their personal perspectives for others. My parents taught me that every Christian has a “life message,” over which he or she owes stewardship to God. I have heard my dad quote an old preacher who said that “preaching is truth poured through personality.” In other words, our experiences and God-given personalities shape our thinking and understanding and the way we share unchanging truth with others.
The readers of FrontLine may be familiar with my own life story, and, Lord willing, you will soon have the opportunity to learn what the Lord continues to do in the life of the woman who was the “little girl who was burned.” More Precious than Gold was mostly my parents’ story. Now, after many years and with the Lord’s help (and with Dad’s editing skills!), I am excited about working on a long project to tell my own story.
Before she passed away, my mother repeatedly taught me that God had given me a message and the ability to share it with others. My father continues to tutor me in the kind of writing I will need to do in order to tell my story. In the same way, godly fathers, husbands, pastors, and missionaries have encouraged the women whose articles appear in this issue of FrontLine. Just as each of us has a distinct life message, every woman has a perspective that is important to those who need her ministry, not just her immediate family and friends, but fellow believers. Therefore, this issue of FrontLine is different from the others. For the first time in its publication history, all of the primary articles were written by women.
So, why is this issue coming out under the title The Law of Kindness? Because that phrase is a part of its context in Proverbs 31:26: “She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” No one is as kind as my Heavenly Father. I have seen the Lord’s kindness reflected in the kindness of my earthly father over and over again. But my mother’s kindness was the kindness of a woman, and I miss that more than I could ever have imagined. At her funeral I testified that she ultimately died of complications from the injuries she sustained in rescuing me from the fire long ago—she literally laid down her life for me. Indeed, according to John 15:13, there is no greater love than that. It was the law of kindness that brought my mother into the fire to save my life. That law of kindness is the life message of every woman who illustrates the One who laid down His life for us.
Therefore, FrontLine has asked us to write. By grace, we hope that we have “opened our mouths with wisdom,” and that “in our tongue is the law of kindness.” For me, this is an opportunity to hone my gifts as I press on with the draft of a book I hope to call No Greater Love. For you, dear reader, this is an opportunity to glean helpful perspectives from the godly ladies who have shared their wisdom and life messages here. Surely, the managing editor of FrontLine, Malinda Duvall, and all the ladies she has worked with to produce this issue are examples of what is described in Proverbs 31. Their words here will edify you as they have edified me. Ladies, these articles will also touch and bless your hearts and lives. Gentlemen, you too will be blessed by what you read.
Contents:
Who Are Your Counselors?
Cherith Newton
So many resources. So many voices. So many distractions.
The Value of Christian Biographies
Joy Washer Collins
Christian biographies have become friends to help me along my spiritual journey.
Godly Online Communication: Finding Your Spiritual “Delete” Key
Laura Ward
Today we have a global village: one click, and dozens, hundreds, even millions of people can hear you.
Loving Your Husband
Kathy Perkins
To be suited to our husbands spiritually, we must know the Creator and the Author of our soul.
Children and Scripture Memory
Kim Melton
Nothing brings calm to a volatile situation like “the washing of water by the word.”
Contentment
Blanche Kaneshiro
God had been trying to gently and patiently teach me how to have the prized possession of contentment.
The Big Three
Christa Threlfall
My attempts to replicate someone else resulted in a whole mess of failure.
Little Is Much When God Is in It
Elizabeth Estelle
Your work is not in vain. God’s plan is long term.
Departments:
Mail Bag & News from All Over
On the Home Front
Wit & Wisdom
David Atkinson
At a Glance: The Story of David, Part 3
Layton Talbert
Newsworthy
Robert Condict
On Language & Scripture
Mark L. Ward Jr.
Regional Reports
PWOC: A Unique Ministry to Military Wives
Kara Bullock
Making Decisions That Lead to Ruin (Part 2)
Jerry Sivnksty
We would like to thank Malinda Duvall and Joy Collins for coordinating this issue of FrontLine magazine.
(Originally published in FrontLine • September / October 2015. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.)