Happy Friday, ladies! I hope you are having a good day so far. We certainly are. Calendula is drying in our dehydrator, and I was able to work on a few orders from my Etsy shop this morning. My little girls are excited to wear their new handmade dresses to their older sister’s ballet performance this evening. So many fun and exciting things. It is such a joy to be a homemaker!
Today I would like to talk about chapters 13 and 14 in our Let Me Be a Woman study for a few minutes. I am very grateful to be a woman, but the true meaning of womanhood has become dim in our day and age. It is up to us to hold onto God’s truth about the matter.
In Chapter 13, Elisabeth Elliot speaks about woman being ordained, and if this should be so. She had just received in the mail a magazine with several articles about the ordination of woman. She questioned the practice, wondering if just because woman could be ordained, should they be ordained?
It might seem at first glance that if women were willing and able to be ministers, that they should be. Why not, right? But does this role encompass what the Lord has intended for women to be?
Elisabeth writes, “So the question of ordination hinges on far more than competence. It cannot be decided on the basis of the church’s need or an individual’s urge or any of the sociological or humanistic arguments put forth by those who seek to liberate. It has to do with things vastly more fundamental and permanent, and the meaning of womanhood is one of these things. We have something to respond to, something that directs and calls and holds us, and it is in obedience to the command that we will find our full freedom.”
I couldn’t agree more. It is in obedience to the command that we will find our full freedom. We must be willing to search the Word of God to discern what He says about womanhood, rather than follow the sociological and humanistic arguments we find in society. This can be tough, but we can do it by the Spirit’s help.
In Chapter 14, Elisabeth talks about “Freedom through Discipline.” True freedom only comes through disciplining ourselves and following rules. She talks about how a boat would not be free to sail to it’s heart content if it’s builder had not followed the rules of engineering.
She writes, “This is the crux of the question of liberty and liberation. Does it mean casting off all restrictions? (Could a ship sail without them?) Does it mean doing what we feel like doing and not doing what we don’t? It means discipline. It means doing the thing we were meant for. What is it to which we are called, we women under God?
I believe Elisabeth is leading into the next chapter here, but I would like to take a minute to say that discipline is so important for us to consider, ladies. The word “disciple” is rooted in the word “discipline.” If we wish to be true disciples of Christ, discipline is involved. We might feel that “liberty and liberation” can be found without discipline, but it can’t. Also, it is important to remember that true liberty and liberation is only found when we walk in the calling that the Lord has given us.
What exactly is this calling? While our lives are all different, the calling of being a woman holds true to all of us. Hopefully we can discuss this more next Friday.
If you would like to join in with us, Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot can be found here. It is an inexpensive little book, and I have found great wisdom in it so far.
Blessings, ladies. I hope you have a lovely weekend!
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