Hello Everyone:
As always, I hope this message finds you well. Our team left Nepal a few days ago and are currently in Thailand serving at a lovely orphanage, to which several blogs will follow; however, I would be remise to not speak of the final weeks of being in Nepal. When we entered the country and had our nightly rooftop Bible study, God was very evident in revealing the meaning behind 1 Peter 3. Of course I thought to myself it was beneficial in that anytime God reveals His wisdom it is a beautiful thing; however, as is customary with God, the revealing of His word usually does not come for our own self gratification, but rather it is for His glory or the lifting up of others. I won’t lie, this chapter often times gave me reservations in the past as I looked through it with the carnal lens, but I found the true meaning to be one of value, identity, and equity. With this knowledge in hand, I was not surprised when a few weeks later when we were given a selections of ministries to participate in, I felt God giving me a nudge to choose the Women’s Retreat (as seen in the picture). The stories these ladies shared were heartbreaking and of course I won’t go into the details, but at that moment the truth God showed me in 1 Peter 3 was to be spoken over them. As the chapter begins, the first verse often troubled me because of the word subjection, but Peter goes past that to show women have the power of conversion through the conversation and conduct of the wife. While I have always heard only God has the power to change hearts, here the ability to impact someone so deeply is also vested with the wife, not by force, but by humility. Verses 3, 4, and 5 are perhaps the most profound in that God knew the struggles society has and will place on women by the outward appearance. One needs not look any further than the first advertisement you can see that speaks of value and identity, whether it be in the form of a body image, lust, or apparel. Each of these characteristics speaks to an external value, rather than focusing on the intrinsic identity of the heart. Granted, that can be a bit of an overgeneralization and not all advertising is patently evil, but it is undeniable the market through the years has largely focused on the outward over the inward. When the Word speaks of apparel, putting on of gold, plaiting of hair, etc, I don’t find this as a prohibition, but a liberation in that God is speaking His truth of He is concerned about the heart, and not about having to strive for a goal of worth or beauty set by man. Granted, this is not to say people of means must dress modest, my saying is always “you do you”; however, one must also look through the lens of someone with very limited material possessions. If society’s view requires riches to dress up the outside and achieve worth, what is the value placed on someone with nothing? We all have hearts, rich or poor, and freedom to choose how we carry ourselves on the outside and that is fine, but God is reminding us the inside is His focus.
I also enjoy how Peter reminds us in verse 7 of the role of a man, and that is to give honour to the wife. While that in and of itself is very self evident and sufficient, he goes on to use another wonder phrase, “heirs together.” One must certainly think of the Bible as past, present, and future, and while referring to the wife as the weaker vessel is I believe a physical term (not necessarily exhaustive but illustrative), the rights of women during Peter’s time were very limited, certainly not equal. But God dispels man’s comprehension of legal worth by reminding us we are heirs together, ie, no better or worse than the other person. It was very rewarding, as a guy myself, to speaks God’s value over these wonderful ladies and to convey whomever they marry, to demand they be honored because God sees them as equal.
As is customary, I must send my thanks to everyone for their financial help and prayers. Any words spoken or deeds done by me being here are possible because of you, so we all vicariously share these wonderful stories through the same God. Also, let me thank each of the other team members who attended (especially Daniel!) and truly have such wonderful hearts for these ladies as well, along with our two hosts who made the event possible.
