Embracing your husband as he steps through the door.
Rocking a bright-eyed baby in the wee hours of the morning.
Praying with a sick and disheartened friend.
These are the moments that matter. In our busy lives these expressions of sacrificial love can be undervalued, overlooked or pushed aside.
However, that is a serious mistake, because these moments are womanhood at its finest.
True womanhood is not snagging the highest-paying job, being the cover of a magazine, or the loud march for independence, as our society tell us.
True womanhood is not self-entitlement, but selfless love. Share on XBut we forget this. There’s so much to do. We’re wives, moms, homemakers, workers, students, entrepreneurs, you name it.
We can become discouraged by the weight of it all, or pressured to prove why these roles even have value.
God’s Plan for Womanhood
We forget that as women we have wonderful gifts and humble ministries ordained by God for His glory.
We designed to be helpers—serving others with wisdom, diligence, gentleness, and strength, reflecting God’s nature as our Helper (Genesis 2:18 Psalm 54:4).
We are nurturers—affectionate teachers, guides, caregivers of younger souls (Titus 2:3-5 1 Timothy 2:5).
But the truth is—these roles can be meaningless, as the world says. That is, meaningless without the transformative, joy-filled, genuine love of Christ.
This selfless love sets us apart from the world. This love makes us women of God.
God’s Scripture in 1 Corinthians 13 calls for the modern-day Christian woman to slow down, close the Facebook tab, and pay attention.
Living In Love
It’s time for a heart evaluation: Why are your womanly labors important? What message are you sending to your husband, kids, church, community?
Are you serving out of obligation, a desire for recognition, or incredible Spirit-led love?
Such questions were heavy on my own spirit this week, as I wondered about the purpose of my everyday routine. Then I came across this passage, and it brought God’s truth back into focus!
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (ESV)
In short, your womanly work has eternal impact, but only if it is done in godly love. Without love, our work can be noisy and powerless.
Reading this is a powerful reminder that 1 Corinthians 13 is not only for weddings. Paul’s talking about pride. He’s speaking about the danger of heartless faith. He’s addressing the vanity of sacrifice, when done for show, or begrudgingly, and not out of devotion.
The premise of Paul’s word’s in this chapter is not romantic love, but the love that should saturate our service as women in Christ—from our marriage to our motherhood, and everything in between.
Are you going through the motions caring for your family? Or, maybe you obsessed with your own agenda, and neglecting others? The Corinthian church was struggling in these ways, too.
Take heart, Christian woman, this perfect love is not something you must muster on top of everything else.
Remember, this love is not the world’s—which is fleeting, the flutter of a feeling—it is God’s. It is perfect, steadfast, sacrificial, holy love.
God is love (1 John 4:8). Remembering and treasuring God’s love will give meaning to your womanhood.
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:9-12 (ESV)
The Truth That Sets You Free
If you abide in Christ, His love is in you. The bubbling brook of the Holy Spirit longs to water every sphere of your life, giving substance to the words of your lips and works of your hands (1 John 4:13). And there’s more good news!
When you live out of love for God, you are freed from the pressures of the world. Share on XServing joyfully out of love, your standard isn’t pleasing others, it’s having a heart that honors God. You don’t have to check off every item on your to-list, everyday. You don’t have to be right 100% of the time. You don’t have to fall apart when you fail, or have to question your purpose.
This confident love is steadfast and inspiring, born out of a rich relationship with your Creator.
How does this love like in practice? Now it’s time to read on in 1 Corinthians 13:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. (v. 4-8, ESV)
If you make Jesus your focus, God's beautiful love will define your womanhood, and never fade. Share on XRelated Posts:
This is a sweet, simple, sound reminder! Love is everything; it makes the world go ’round. Thanks Dani!
You’re welcome, Jeanine! Nothing compares to God’s love!
Lovely post! Thank you for discussing God’s true design for women, it is not what society tells us, but what the Bible says.
Yes, we must always depend on the Word, as opposed to the world! Thank you for visiting Lenae! 🙂
Beautiful and timely words. Thank you for this ministry! I am finding so much encouragement and faithful instruction in your posts! <3
Aw, thank you! All glory to God, who faithfully teaches us 🙂
Thank you for the reminder! This is an area the Lord has been cultivating in me for the past several years and I love to know I’m not alone out here!
You are definitely not alone! Like you, I’m so thankful that God has been opening my eyes to beauty of His plan for womanhood! Praying you continue to live in His love.
I love this. You hit the points perfectly on what true “Woman-hood” is about. Thank you for this reminder and beautiful words that truly reciprocate what God meant us women to be. I have just started a blog- HisDaughterProject.com- and it’s all about reinstating your identity as HIS Daughter- not the world’s Daughter. This is exactly a point I want to get across to my readers and one that I meditate on everyday as child of God that has been called to motherhood and being a wife. God Bless! 🙂
Thank you Dylan! Biblical womanhood is so beautiful, and praise the Lord you’re helping to share it with sisters in Christ on your blog. 🙂
I love this! So many times people think that “love” is reserved for their husband or their family, but I really like the way you reminded readers that the love that Paul was speaking of is for ALL others. So often we get so caught up in our daily lives that we forget to “love one another”. Jesus expressed the need to love one another in so many ways throughout His teachings and yet we seem to have forgotten how important it is. Thank you again for this wonderful reminder for all of us!
Yes, thank you for this reminder. The Word reveals your true purpose.