A Review - Voices of the True Woman Movement, Chapter 1

I was sent the book "Voices of the True Woman Movement: A Call to the Counter-Revolution" to review, chapter by chapter, here on my blog.

I just finished Chapter One, entitled "The Ultimate Meaning of True Womanhood" by John Piper, and thought it was an excellent way to begin a book dealing with the issues of Biblical womanhood in today's world. I've mentioned before how I love John Piper's way with words, how well he puts everything into its proper perspective of our position in Christ and with an aim to glorify Him, and this chapter didn't let me down!

Dr. Piper takes a brief but thorough look at what it means to be a woman in Christ, whether married or single, and what God's ultimate purpose in creating man and woman differently was. I think that aspect is really important to remember, especially in this current culture where the lines of masculinity and femininity are blurred at the least, and often attempted to be eradicated completely. Here are a few quotes that stood out to me as I read:

Wimpy theology makes wimpy women.... Wimpy theology simply does not give a woman a God that is big enough, strong enough, wise enough, and good enough to handle the realities of life in a way that magnifies the infinite worth of Jesus Christ.

....He created us as male and female precisely so that we could display the glory of His Son.

I thought his point here really summed up the purpose of womanhood in Christ:

This means that if you try to reduce womanhood to physical features and biological functions, and then determine your role in the world merely on the basis of competencies, you don't just miss the point of womanhood, you diminish the glory of Christ in your own life. True womanhood is indispensable in God's purpose to display the fullness of the glory of His Son. Your distinctive female personhood is not incidental. It exists because of its God-designed relationship to the central event of history, the death of the Son of God.

So many people, even within the church, try to push the feminist mentality of "Men and women are the same" but that's just not the way it is in God's design and purpose! We're distinctly different because each gender brings its own glory to God IN their uniqueness-es, not despite of them!

A quote for married women that I was encouraged by:

....if you.... married women.... embrace the truth that your womanhood, true womanhood, is uniquely and indispensably created by God to display the glory of His Son in the way you relate to your husband, you will have a calling of infinite significance.

Wow! What a perspective that puts on the day-to-day life of being a wife! What a challenge and an encouragement, all in one!

And for single ladies, he had some wonderful points, as well:

A life of Christ-exalting singleness bears witness that....

....the family of God grows not by propagation through sexual intercourse, but by regeneration through faith in Christ....

....relationships in Christ are more permanent, and more precious, than relationships in families....

....marriage is temporary, and finally gives way to the relationship to which it was pointing to all along: Christ and the church...

(of course, he backs all of these points up with further commentary, but I can't copy the whole chapter here, lol!)

With that kind of opening to this book, I am really looking forward to delving in deeper and seeing what other gems of encouragement and inspiration there are to be found! My review for Chapter 2 will be coming up soon!