A few days ago a friend of mine and I were talking…the conversation turned to passed mistakes and those childish crushes we have all had. Then the conversation turned serous, when we started talking about were there really any guys out there still ~Set apart by God~. My answer to her was yes, yet it got me to thinking. As we look around today, in our culture of dating, breaking up and heart ache..it looks as if I was mistaken. Yet I know I wasn’t. Where our frustration comes in, is that from childhood we as women are taught to be leaders, take control, have a career and put it first, pursue guys, not to wait, conform to what the world thinks is right. In many cases, this leaves women heart broken…our cultures theology has a nice way of backfiring on us. Laying it all on the line, is today’s culture….not holding back, heaven forbid we be called churchy and pure. Yet getting called those names…should be an honor.(even if they are not meant to be) As Christian women, we are called to give to pen to our lives back to God, He writes our life story not us. Allowing Him to provide is the only way to not fall into the trap of today’s culture. Since we are called, in Romans to be set apart,
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will." Romans 12:2
If we as women, hold back…grow in our spiritual lives, and trust God’s wonderful plan…a lot of headache can be avoided. Keep your standards high, Gods standard is the only one to live by. Most girls of today, give up those values of Biblical standards, for what our culture tells us is *acceptable*…this is not what we should be living by, the “acceptable” but the pure and holy. As it says in the Song of Solomon “"Like a lily among the thorns, So is my darling among the maidens." Holiness and purity, a white lily…is what we as women are called to.
4 comments:
excellent post, dear! "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires." (Song of Solomon 2:7, 3:5, 8:4) is one of my personal favorites when it comes to purity, guy/girl relationships etc. :)
love ya much! -Elizabeth
Annie,
I must affirm Elizabeth's "excellent post!" Such wisdom from such a young woman.
As a 38 year old, unmarried "girl," I am confident that God's ways are always best and his timing is always perfect.
I can't believe how grown up you have gotten. Okay, I'll stop gushing now.
Love ya,
K:)
As I have been thinking about your post, I have been remembering an old friend of mine who is from Africa. He was a student here in the states and when he went back to Africa he met a young woman he thought he would like to marry. In his culture when a man met a woman he would like to be his wife the town matchmaker would step in an act as a liaison between the families. Men in that culture are required to pay the bride’s father a brideprice. The matchmaker would negotiate the brideprice. This young man was so thrilled because he had to pay his future father-in-law the highest brideprice allowed. In this culture livestock was traded instead of money. He had to give her father something like five cows, three goats and ten chickens. Sounds strange to us, but…….
He would have to work for several years to be able to pay his father-in-law and he would not be able to marry until the brideprice was paid in full. I can’t even tell you the joy he had in the thought that he was marrying a woman that commanded the highest brideprice. As he put it, “You don’t want to marry the girl who is only worth one chicken.”
This is a man who realized that, in regards to his future bride “her worth is far above jewels.” We seem to have lost that in our society and even in the American church. There was a time, and Elisabeth Elliot speaks of this, when a young man was expected to earn the attention of a young woman. He “earned” it by his godly character. A young man with godly character would never even think of trying to earn the attention of a young woman without godly character.
My exhortation to you is, always strive to be a woman who commands the highest brideprice.
Love ya,
Miss Kim
Wow. Annie. Wow. Kim. Both the post and Kim, your responses, are amazing. Thank the Lord that there are people and friends like you guys. So encouraging. The "strive to be a woman who commands the highest brideprice" is incredible. That is so hard to do...so often I want to be conformed to the world to please men. Bless you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the encouragment!
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