In celebration of the paperback release of Justice this month, I invited some of those who read Justice to share their thoughts here. Rather than book reports, these posts take some of the themes of Justice and explore them as they apply to life outside the book. I hope you’ll find these posts encouraging, whether you’ve read Justice or not.

For this one, I just have to say, Jake’s been blushing since he first heard of it. He’d be the first to admit he’s fallen short–he’s pretty sure that’s no secret–but with God’s help, he’s committed to being the kind of man who’d make a good son-in-law.

So, without further ado…

by Jessica Baker

Marriage.

It’s something little girls dream about their entire lives. Their perfect wedding day, perfect spouse, and perfect marriage. As they are living their non-perfect life in their own non-perfect marriage, they start dreaming for their daughter. Dreaming isn’t really the answer though, is it?
We don’t live in a perfect world, and there is not one person on this entire planet who is perfect. Actually, there’s only ever been one perfect person in the world and that is Jesus. Moms – start praying TODAY for your future son- or daughter-in-law. Start praying right now that your child will find a spouse of like faith. I consistently pray for my future son-in-law. I want him to have certain traits, ones that I have discussed with my daughter.

When I recently read Emily Conrad’s Justice, I immediately knew that I wanted my daughter to marry Jake. Okay, so she can’t really marry Jake since he’s a fictional character… but I want her to marry the type of man that he is. The Bible tells us what the role of a husband is, as well as a God-fearing man, and I believe on some level Jake meets them all. But for today, I’ll narrow the list down to the top few things I am looking for in a son-in-law, based on Jake 😊

Love

Ephesians 5:25 commands, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (KJV). Jake loved Brooklyn with everything he had. He was willing to do anything for her, no matter the cost to himself. He was fiercely protective, yet at the same time had this gentleness about him. I want this for my daughter. Someone to love her, just as Christ loves the church. Someone who will love her unconditionally, faults and all. Someone who will love her for just being her.

Patience

Jake was so patient with Brooklyn. He didn’t pressure her into a relationship. When she needed space, he gave it to her. There is a quote in the book I want to share with you. It reminds you that there are guys out there who are strong enough and Godly enough to save special things for marriage.
“I don’t know what you consider simple things, but for the right woman, if I could hold her hand, I could save our first kiss for our wedding day.”

Now this is every parent’s dream come true on the boyfriend line. You want to make sure your daughter is with a boy who is patient enough to wait for marriage. It seems almost like that is becoming rarer these days, but I have faith that there are boys/men out there like that!

A Man Who Loves the Lord

God needs to be the center of your marriage, and I want not only my daughter to understand that, but her future husband to as well. Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (KJV). That means that we need to put Christ first. It’s no easy task, trust me. I struggle with putting someone in front of my husband and daughter, but it must be done in order to obey God’s Word. I want my daughter to find someone that feels the same way. Put God first, and the rest will fall into place. Jake understood this – he loved the Lord. He was a God-fearing man. Yes, he made mistakes, but remember – he is only human!

There are, of course, about a billion other things I am looking for in a future son-in-law, but these are the top things that Jake really brought to my mind. I encourage mothers to read Justice. Then, when they are comfortable with the topics in the book, share it with their daughter(s). Let it lead to a discussion of what a godly husband really does look like, and start praying for that person together. Not only will it bring you closer to the Lord, it just might bring you closer to your daughter!

Jessica Baker lives Central NY with her husband, teenage daughter, beagle and cat. She loves Jesus, her family, and her church. She is a wife, mother, church youth group leader, and avid reader. She loves cooking and baking for family and friends in her spare time.

Jessica’s love for reading began as a young child when her grandmother read her the book Teeny Tiny Woman. In fact, most of the books she read as a child were given to Jessica by her grandmother, to whom she is eternally grateful for encouraging her to read. Today Jessica has a diverse taste in Christian books, ranging from Amish to dystopian, historic to contemporary, and everywhere in between.

Jessica loves sharing her passion for reading with others, and connecting readers with authors. In addition to her blog, she provides support in managing street teams, proofreading, beta reading, copy edits, and assisting authors in any way that she can.

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Photo credits
Title image background photo by Marc A. Sporys on Unsplash, graphic designed on Canva.com 
Mr. and Mrs. sign photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

Justice is available in e-book or paperback from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Christianbook.com.