Forgiven Women

We live in a culture that hates men and biblical masculinity, and consequently because that is true, it also hates women. But it tries to disguise this hatred of women with thick layers of flattery and other lies. And this means that we live in a culture that demands that women must not be told the truth. They must not be told about their particular sins, their peculiar temptations. And this is also how you know our culture hates women. The one thing our culture does not want is strong women, free women because that would mean hundreds of millions of forgiven women.

Paul tells Timothy in his second letter that one of the marks of difficult times is the prevalence of weak women taken captive and weighed down with sins, led around by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the truth (2 Tim. 3:6-7).

The fundamental thing that makes women weak is guilt – they are weighed down with sins. And this makes them susceptible to scams and lies and flattery. They know they are guilty, they hate the feeling, but instead of dealing with their sin, they let their lusts lead them into one new thing after another: food fads, beauty fads, diet fads, selling-stuff-at-parties fads, education fads, health fads, always learning and never able to come to the truth. Always scrambling, but never really free.

So what is that sin that weighs you down? There are many, but one of them is the sin of vanity: desperate to be beautiful, desperate to be noticed, obsessed with your body, your image, or starving for some form of admiration from others. But that’s an idol. You will never be what the world wants you to imagine. It’s a graven image. Beauty is fading and charm is a lie, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised (Prov. 31:30). Yes, God made you beautiful and it is your glory, but that is supposed to be a sign to you of what you are to become throughout eternity, beginning on the inside now: an incorruptible beauty, the hidden person of the heart, a gentle and quiet spirit which is most precious in the sight of God. 

So put away all your fear. Put away your fear of man, your fear of what might happen to your children, your husband, your future. A gentle and quiet spirit trusts in God and is not afraid. What is your most treasured possession? Where is it? If it really is your most treasured possession, then you know right where it is, for safekeeping. You a daughter of the King, you were purchased with the blood of Jesus. Put away your fear, trust in His sovereign care: that is most precious in the sight of God, and God knows right where you are. You are in His safekeeping. 

So confess your sins, and be forgiven, so that you may be strong, and wise, and free.

Photo by Tina Dawson on Unsplash