Feminine Appeal #1

In the midst of one series (Debunking Headship), I'm embarking on another, simply because at this point in my day-to-day life with our son, it's easier to pick up a book and read a chapter while underlining key points than it is to listen to a talk and take notes. (Of course, even as I attempt to do this, our son is climbing all over me trying to get at the book--not unlike a cat! He is a curious and determined little boy.)

If you couldn't tell by the title, I'll be going through Carolyn Mahaney's book Feminine Appeal. Today I'll begin with the foreword, written by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

DeMoss begins by giving us the good news and the bad news about women and women's ministry in the church today. On the bleak side of things, DeMoss says "Christian women--no less than nonbelieving women--are in desperate need of the truth." Many women are frustrated, discouraged, and disappointed in their current circumstances because they don't measure up to the hopes and dreams they had for life. This feeling exists in Christian women because "we are profoundly disoriented about who God is and who we are, and about our calling and mission in life--as women." Many Christian women today have foregone the true biblical definition of womanhood in all of its manifestations (singleness, wifehood, motherhood, etc.) for one that is "culturally accepted and politically correct but fundamentally flawed."

On the promising side of things, DeMoss says that as she speaks to women about being real, godly women, she finds a "hunger and eagerness [in] many women to receive the Word and to act on it." Oddly enough, in close connection with TFC's recent teaching on hearing the Word, she describes these women as "hav[ing] ears to hear... resonat[ing] with the truth... willing to make tough, radical choices..." What a blessing that in the midst of all of this confusion about true womanhood, God has preserved a remnant of women who are "grounded in the Word and understand the biblical perspective of womanhood..." She goes on to tout Mahaney as one of these women: one worth listening to, learning from, and following after. This is not because of any high status or place, but simply because she has lived and faithfully continues to live a life of love and service to her husband and family, while applying herself to studying and living out the Word of God. (Oh that someone would speak these words of me in later years!) She is a true Titus 2 woman.

DeMoss then addresses the two types of women in Titus 2:

If you are a "younger woman," you hold in your hands a mentor, an excellent guide to spiritual maturity. This is your opportunity to sit at the feet of a woman who has been farther down the path than you and who is equipped to help you understand and embrace God's plan and purpose for your life.

Perhaps you qualify as an "older woman." You will find in this book a practical tool to help you fulfill your mandate to invest in the lives of younger women. According to Scripture, this is what you are to teach the women He puts in your life.

So there you have it--younger and older (and might I add, no matter what life circumstance you're in), this book is for you. We are called to play different women roles at different points in our lives, but we are always called to be women. Almost all of us are an "older woman" to someone. Are you setting the right example? Do you know what to teach? At the same time, many of us are also blessed with being "younger women." Are you sitting at the feet of women who have gone before you, learning from their wisdom and experience? Are you taking advantage of all that God has provided for your growth and sanctification?

As DeMoss says, may we women "recover the nearly lost treasure of God's way of thinking and living." Will you join me?