The Nature Of A Woman

Femininity is a reality of God’s design and making—his precious gift to every woman—and, in a very different way, his gracious gift to men as well. The difference between men and women is not a mere matter of biology. Throughout the millennia of human history, up until the past several decades, people took for granted that the differences were so obvious as to need no comment. Yet never as now have we more needed Paul’s reminder to the Roman Christians not to let the world squeeze us into its own mold but to let God remold our minds from within (Ro 12:2).

Surrender is a key ingredient in femininity. As a bride, a woman in marriage surrenders her independence, her name, her destiny, her will and ultimately, in the marriage chamber, her body, to the bridegroom. As a mother, she surrenders in a very real sense her life for the life of the child. As a single woman, she surrenders herself in a unique way for service to her Lord and for service to family and community.

Femininity receives. It takes what God gives. In other words, women are to receive the given as Mary did (Lk 1:38), not to insist upon the not-given, as Eve did (Ge 3:1-6). This does not imply that a woman should surrender to evils such as coercion or violent conquest.

The gentle and quiet spirit of which Peter speaks is the ornament of femininity (1Pe 3:4), which found its epitome in Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was willing to be a vessel, hidden, unknown, except as Somebody’s mother. This maternity is available to every woman who humbles herself before the Lord, not simply as a biological role but as an attitude of selflessness in her own heart and submission to the Lord.

The challenge of Biblical femininity for you is to be a woman, holy through and through, asking for nothing but what God wants to give you, receiving with both hands and with all your heart whatever that is. Femininity is a precious treasure to be guarded and nourished each and every day.

Reading: 1 Peter 3:4