WOMEN-BEAUTY-TRUE
(Jonathan
Edwards wrote of Sarah), “They say there is a young lady in (New Haven) who is
loved of that Great Being, who made and rules the world, and that there are
certain seasons in which this Great Being, in some way or other invisible,
comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight; and she hardly
cares for anything, except to meditate on him… she has a strange sweetness in
her mind, and singular purity in their affection… you could not persuade her to
do anything wrong or sinful…. She is of
a wonderful sweetness, calmness and universal benevolence of mind…. She will
sometimes go about from place to place, singing sweetly; and seems to be always
full of joy and pleasure; and no one knows for what. She loves to be alone, walking in the fields
and groves, and seems to have someone invisible always conversing with her.”
Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, Soli Deo Gloria, p. 153-
154.
The woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, filling it with
love and prayer and purity, is doing something better than anything else her
hands could find to do beneath the skies.
A true mother is one of the holiest secrets of home happiness. God sends
many beautiful things to this world, many noble gifts; but no blessing is
richer than that which He bestows in a mother who has learned love's lessons
well, and has realized something of the meaning of her sacred calling.
J.R. Miller
Secrets of Happy Home Life, 1894.
Many wives
strive for physical beauty, but Scripture says that “beauty is vain” (Proverbs
31:30). While it’s alright for her to
adorn herself with outward beauty, a godly wife’s first concern is to adorn herself more with inward beauty. You do this by being submissive to your
husband with the attitude of a “meek and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:3). You develop a “meek and quiet spirit” by
humbly trusting God while being submissive to your husband. Your motivation comes from placing your hope
and trust in God just like the “holy women” in “former times” (1 Peter 3:5).
Martha Peace
The Excellent Wife, Focus Publishing
Incorporated, p. 177-178.
The Holiness
of God is not evidenced in women when they are brash, brassy, boisterous,
brazen, head-strong, strong-willed, loud-mouthed, overly-talkative, having to
have the last word, challenging, controlling, manipulative, critical,
conceited, arrogant, aggressive, assertive, strident, interruptive,
undisciplined, insubordinate, disruptive, dominating, domineering, or clamoring
for power. Rather, women accept God’s holy order and character by being humbly
and unobtrusively respectful and receptive in functional subordination to God,
church leadership, and husbands.
James Fowler
Excerpted from: Women in the Church, Study Outlines,
1999, www.christinyou.net. Used by Permission.
Earth has
nothing more tender than a woman’s heart when it is
the abode of piety.
Martin Luther
A vital
Christian, radiating that hidden beauty of the heart, is more attractive to the
right sort of Christian man (the only kind you want) than the raving beauty who
is hollow within. A woman who is
developing her domestic abilities, who is reasonably attractive, and who is a
vital Christian in her own right is an irresistible person.
Jay E. Adams
Christian Living in the Home, P&R
Publishing, 1972, p. 62, Used by Permission.
Accordingly,
we never find the apostle drawing a depreciated picture of woman; every
allusion of his to the believing woman is full of reverent respect and
honor. Among the Christian women who
come into Paul’s history there is not one who is portrayed after this imagined
pattern of childish ignorance and weakness.
The Lydia, the Lois, the Eunice, the Phoebe, the Priscilla, the Damaris, the Roman Mary, the Junia,
the Tryphena, the Tryphosa,
the “beloved Persis” of the Pauline history, and the
“elect lady” who was honored with the friendship of the aged John, all appear
in the narrative as bright examples of Christian intelligence, activity,
dignity, and nobleness.
The Public Preaching of Women, October
1879.