So my husband likes to read things and then talk to me about them and he’ll be all like – “So if you do this and I do that and we’re diametrically opposed we need to look at what we’re… blah… blah… blah.” And I’m like stop making up words, if you want me to understand what you’re teaching bring me chocolate. And then we laugh because we both know its dark chocolate that makes me smarter!
Definition gives shape and detail, depth and substance to something. By defining we can begin to understand. Sometimes we have a sense of something but can’t quite understand the fullness of it. (This happened to me in almost every math class I ever attended.)
Definition enables us, then, to know how to interpret a word or concept….he could have just said we wouldn’t agree instead of using a big word – he likes to challenge my vocab though…keep me on my toes..in my opinion dark chocolate could do the same…
Sometimes we get the wrong sense about a concept or word – we weren’t listening or it wasn’t communicated correctly in the first place. This poses a problem if we are asked about it later – it could be devasting.
“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’
We can see in the scripture that these are the first recorded words of the enemy. You’ve probably read them many times before. You probably also know the response Eve had…she told him that they could eat of the trees in the garden but, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it lest you die’ – this is how she thought God had defined the parameters regarding this tree. Of course that’s not true…if they couldn’t touch the tree then God would have contradicted himself when he told Adam in chapter 2 verse 15 that he was to keep the garden; eating of every tree but the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If he ate of it he would surely die (or begin dying). But God said by definition of verse 15 that the tree must be tended to. God will never contradict himself he is perfect.
Unless we have an understanding cemented in our cranial cavities of what God’s Word says and believe it with all our hearts we can become diametrically opposed to the Word of God. That is a desperately dangerous place to be – it cost Adam and Eve the garden.
When what we see as truth is not in accordance to what God’s Truth is we choose our glory over his. Paul Tripp calls it a glory war. “And Jesus answered them, ‘SEE THAT no one leads you astray…” Mt 24.4. Biblical womanhood is exactly what it says it is in the Bible. God will not contradict himself. If it stood as truth in the first century it is still truth in the 21st century. God is immutable. Biblical womanhood is notGalatians 3.28 – that’s justification. Biblical womanhood isEphesians 5.22-24 – for the glory of Christ is at hand – don’t make it about you.
I’m not sure at what point in history women decided to make BW about themselves…maybe it was in the garden. I don’t know. What I do know is that this mystery is profound! (Paul’s word). BW is what gives us our identity – it defines who we are as image bearers.
Do you know what your identity looks like as a woman? or are you drawn to act according to circumstance?