This chapter delves into what can we discover through Eve about being a woman. She was crown of creation. She, too, bears the image of God. God created her specifically to reveal something about himself... That's a pretty big deal. There is part of who God is that he couldn't just put in one being, so he created two- man and woman. Counterparts, if you will. What exactly do the authors say he wants to reveal through women? That he is relational and has a heart for romance, he longs to share adventures with us that are not possible without him, and he has a beauty to unveil.
Eve was created because it was not right without her (Gen. 2:18) What was “not good” was the fact that man was “alone.” Women care more about relationships than just about anything else. Most women define themselves in terms of their relationships and the quality of those relationships. It's kind of funny to me because my good friend wrote in her blog not too long ago a post about how her friends make her who she is. She preceded to describe each of her close friends by her relationship to them, what they mean to her or how they relate to each other. Her relationships are important to her as a person, as a woman. Where does she (and we) get this from? God. God is relational, too. He longs for a relationship with us.
Not only that, but God wants us to love him and to seek him with all of our hearts. So we also desires to be sought after by the whole heart of our pursuer. I know that feeling well. After dating a slew of guys who I felt just liked to be around me, or carried me like a prize on their arm, or passively pursued me in a non-confrontational kind of way, I KNEW I would not settle for a guy who would not pursue me for real. The song, "For My Love" by Bethany Dillon became my mantra (if you haven't heard it, you should really check it out... it's also the song that I walked down the aisle to at my wedding) even when I had to cry myself to sleep listening to it because I wasn't sure that a pursuer like that was actually in the cards for me.
The “help meet,” the ezer kenegdo- that’s the part of being a woman that really pulls on my heart strings. I've written posts specifically about this in the past. I remember the first time I read this book, at only 18, I knew that desire was what I had wanted and been seeking from guys my whole life. Sure, I wanted to feel wanted by them and I wanted to feel beautiful. But reading about how God created woman as a helper to sustain Adam… I felt my heart cry out, “Yes!” From that moment, more than anything else, that’s what I knew I wanted to be for the man in my life. Of course, it doesn’t work to be that for the wrong person. I also find it interesting that the word ezer is only used other places in the bible referring to God. That part of his image, that desperately needed help, he instilled in women. It blows my mind. And makes me feel like I need to do a better job of being that for my husband. After all, he did give me a great man to be a “helper to sustain” for. Women are essential and have an irreplaceable role to play. I know that’s how Ian sees me in his life. I just need to remember it in my times of doubt and failure. (or at least when I’m feeling that way…)
Beauty is the essence of God. Beauty is also the essence of woman. It encompasses the physical characteristics AND the soulful/spiritual ones. Beauty speaks, invites, nourishes, comforts, inspires, and is transcendent. I love how the author points out that the longing of women to unveil beauty is not frivolous (the culture or to get a man) but it’s in our hearts, it’s part of how we were designed.
I love the conclusion for the chapter- making sure we understood correctly what they were trying to communicate about women. We are not valued merely on our looks or existing just to complete men. We are the crown of creation, created in the image of God. God longs for romance, God longs to be our ezer, God reveals beauty as essential to life. Because we bear His image, we long for these things as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment