Tag: beauty

Revive Me #45–Be a Gentlewoman

Revive Me, Week 45– A Year of Growing Stronger in the Lord

Be a Gentlewoman

Gentlemen are a pleasure to be around.  They are courteous, mannerly, noble, and honorable.   I believe all Christian men should be gentlemen.  They demonstrate sterling traits that represent Christ well.  They stand out.

God desires all Christian women to be gentlewomen.

Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

1 Peter 3:3,4

“Very precious in the sight of God.”  Don’t you love that phrase?  That’s how God feels about a woman whose heart and spirit are gentle.  Do you have a gentle spirit?  Gentleness is a trait of those striving to “walk worthy of their calling” (Eph. 4:1,2).  It is demonstrated by those trying to “walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16, 22, 23).  It is an essential part of having “good behavior in Christ” (1 Pet. 3:15,16).

At the risk of sounding old-fashioned, women have a special knack for being gentle.  Even Paul compared gentleness to “a nursing mother tenderly caring for her own children” (1 Thess. 2:7).  Let’s not smother that God-given ability.  It’s beautiful.  Let’s not swallow the world’s presentation of the hard, edgy woman.  When a woman displays gentleness, it doesn’t mean she lacks strength.  We don’t think of a gentleman as being a weakling!  No, a gentle woman has the greatest strength of all–the ability to draw others to Christ by her compassion, kindness, and patience (Col. 3:12).

“Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.”

(Phil. 4:5)

Suggestions for the Week:

  1.  Practice gentleness in your speech, tone, and body language.
  2.  Would your husband describe you as gentle?  Would your children?  If not, start today to make sure they see your inner beauty.
  3.  Look up “gentle” and “gentleness” in the Bible.  In what areas should we be practicing gentleness?
  4.  Smooth out any rough edges in your personality.  Be attractive.

Read it.  Memorize it.  Live it.

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Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen in Me

Yesterday was my birthday (yay!).  For me, birthdays are a day of self-reflection.  Have I grown?  When I think back over the past year, are there more or less moments I’m not proud of?

“Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen In Me” is a hymn written by Tom M. Jones.  This song was led at a ladies’ retreat a couple of weeks ago, and the words have been rolling around in my head ever since.  The message really struck a chord with me this time.  I’ve decided that this song will be my theme for this next year of my life.

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity.
May His Spirit divine all my being refine
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

Claiming to be a Christian is one thing–living it out is quite another.  The fact that I follow Christ should be seen by others without my having to announce it (or post it on Facebook).  As the verse says, this takes refining by setting my mind on the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:5-14).  If I walk by the Spirit, I will reflect the purity of Christ instead of giving in to my own weaknesses (Gal. 5:16).

When your burden is heavy and hard to bear
When your neighbors refuse all your load to share
When you’re feeling so blue, Don’t know just what to do
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.

I think the nature of our burdens and the sources of our blues change as we age.  Do we ever get to the point where we don’t suffer from time to time?  Not on this side of Heaven (Rev. 21:1-4).  Whether I’m experiencing trials, struggling with inadequacy, or just plain feeling sorry for myself, may I have the wisdom and grace to act like a woman blessed anyway.

When somebody has been so unkind to you,
Some word spoken that pierces you through and through.
Think how He was beguiled, spat upon and reviled,
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you

It’s easy to be warm and friendly to warm and friendly people.  Jesus commands that I be warm and friendly even to those who have been unkind to me personally (Matt. 5:38-48).  When I want to defend myself or offer the cold shoulder, I must remember that the only way to share the beauty of Jesus is to instead offer love, goodness, and prayers.

From the dawn of the morning till close of day,
In example in deeds and in all you say,
Lay your gifts at His feet, ever strive to keep sweet
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.

This last verse is the true challenge for me.  It reminds me to be Christ-like 24/7, not just when I feel like it.  This beauty must be shared with my very own family, with every member of the body of Christ, and with every neighbor, co-worker, or community member.  In every word or deed, even when I’m tired, cross, overwhelmed, rushed, distracted, or stressed, I must “ever strive to keep sweet.”  The motivation is a good one, though–it’s a gift I’m laying at His feet.  It is all for the glory of God (Matt. 5:16). If my own glory becomes my motivation, I’ll need to go back and focus on the refining mentioned in the first verse of the song.

 

“Women are Most Beautiful at 30; Men are Most Handsome at 34”

I heard that little tidbit on the Today Show.  Apparently I’m well over a whole decade past my beauty prime.  That’s vanity, yes.  If this physical body was all I knew and cared about, I might be tempted to console myself with chocolate. (I might do that anyway.)  But even though our society idolizes the beautiful body, the Christian knows that “beauty is vain” and “the Lord looks on the heart” (Prov. 31:30; 1 Sam. 16:7).

The truth is that I’ve got a long way to go before I reach my true beauty prime.  God prizes a gentle and quiet spirit (1 Pet. 3:3,4).  Holy women adorn themselves by submitting to their own husbands (1 Pet. 3:5,6), and clothing themselves with strength and dignity (Prov. 31:25).  Dressing our best means practicing righteous acts (Rev. 19:8).  You see, presentation is everything to God, too, but He wants us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him (Rom. 12:1).  Gentleness, submission, honor, holiness, and serving others–this is real beauty that never fades.

As someone once said, “You can take no credit for beauty at sixteen.  But if you are beautiful at sixty, it will be your own soul’s doing.”  Those who are conforming to the image of Christ have this confidence:  “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).

Prayer for Today:  Lord, help me remove all ugliness from my heart.

**This post can also be viewed at:  LivingWell

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