A Woman's High Calling (Paperback)

Chapter One

Woman's High Calling to Godliness

What a treat I savored this past spring when I traveled with my husband Jim to England to attend our church's European missions conference! I had heard about the quaintness and the "oldeness" of England before, but now I had a God-given opportunity to taste it for myself.

One particular day turned out to be life-changing for me. You see, our host arranged an outing for our group to the legendary Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, England. The area of Kent has a rich Christian history, dating back to the days of Saint Augustine (A.D. 597), and the Canterbury Cathedral there is heralded as one of the finest ecclesiastical structures in England. I've never seen anything so magnificent!

Anyway, while Jim and I were walking through the 80-foot-high stone porticos of the cathedral and sitting in its centuries-old pews in order to take in the lofty archways, towering columns, and ornate ceilings, we became quietly aware of the clergy who tended to the church and the people who worshiped there. They moved about silently-so silently that we were never distracted. They moved reverently- never for a second forgetting that they were in a place of worship. They spoke little, if at all, and always in quiet tones. One could almost sense their awareness that they were in the presence of God.

The already ethereal ambiance was further heightened by the sounds of a women's choir in rehearsal. Their voices and the strains of their hymns literally soared upward (and without the aid of a man-made audio system!) to the heights of the nave and then drifted down again, filling the 522-foot length of the cathedral with an inescapable sweetness. The women, singing without accompaniment as they practiced for the Evensong Service to be held later that day, were nowhere in sight. In fact, we had to go searching for them. Peering through an iron gate, we caught a mere glimpse of them, all dressed alike in black skirts and white blouses, standing behind the aged wooden railings that marked out the choir loft, singing in unison to the Lord, quite oblivious to the many who sought to get a peek at them.

Everything about our visit to the Canterbury Cathedral was spiritually uplifting! Why? Well, certainly the majestic architecture contributed to our experience. But, more than the place, the people who served and worshiped with reverence there inspired the same in us. Suddenly we found ourselves whispering. Why? They were quiet... therefore we were quiet. Without our noticing, our breakneck tourist pace slowed to a stroll. Why? Because they were moving silently, reverently, worshipfully (if there is such a word)... therefore we did, too. One couldn't help but pray in such a place. Again, why? Because the church attendants and choir seemed to be absorbed in worship and in the God they served... therefore we were, too.

All this reminded both Jim and me that we were not in a museum or a well-preserved architectural model. No. As I said, we were in a place of worship. And somehow, the reverential behavior of others brought to us a fresh awareness of God's presence. We'll never forget that wonderful spring afternoon in England!

God's High Calling to Godliness

Now, are you wondering how touring a church in beautiful England relates to you and me and our high calling as women? Quite simply, that experience provided an opportunity to see and experience firsthand (and to share with you) the kind of conduct God has in mind for us as His women. As we step into our study of God's high calling we meet up, in Titus 2:3-5 (one of those "pink passages" in the Bible that deal with women), with God's calling to godliness. Obviously, godliness is one of the essentials for godly living. And it summons us to an all-consuming commitment to God and a pursuit meant to permeate every area of our life.

But I must warn you- there's no tiptoeing into our calling. There's no warming-up to the godly qualities that we'll be looking at in this book. And there's no apprenticeship. No, God doesn't ease us into His summons on our life. He instead commences His call right at the core, at the deepest (and highest!) level of our calling- and that is this first calling, a calling to Himself. Because what's inside our hearts affects our behavior, God asks that our relationship with Him be the catalyst that creates in us behavior befitting one who has a relationship with the living God. He wants our actions to be reverent, godly, worshipful, and holy, mirroring a heart that is reverent, godly, worshipful, and holy. He states, "the older women likewise, that they be reverent in their behavior" (verse 3), or as the King James Version so wonderfully conveys, "that they be in behavior as becometh holiness."

We find these words of scripture — Titus 2:3-5 — in the short epistle the apostle Paul wrote to his helper, Titus, a trusted assistant sent to aid the church in Crete. Paul's letter to Titus addressed the issue of order in the church and the tasks and responsibilities of the different groups that make up a congregation-the pastor (verse 1), the older men (verse 2), the older women (verse 3), the younger women (verses 4-5), and the younger men (verse 6). And even though the call to this particular quality-godliness-is addressed to "the older women" in the body of Christ (verse 3), it wraps its arms around each and every woman... regardless of age. Why? Because it points first to our spirit of worship and calls us to be reverent in all our behavior (Titus 2:3).

As I said, it's a high calling!

Learning About Godliness

Do you remember my mentioning in my preface, "A Prayer for Godly Living," that many of the words that define our high calling are used only once in the Bible? Well, that's true of this first and foremost quality of holy and reverent behavior. In fact, it's a unique combination of two Greek words that is used only here in the New Testament.

• The first word is reverent (hieroprepes) — meaning sacred (hieros) and to be fitting (prepo). In simple language, it marks out what is fitting and appropriate and suited to sacred character. Put another way, it describes persons, actions, or things consecrated to God. Its many synonyms include sacred, reverent and reverend, along with holy.
• The second word is behavior (katastema)— having to do with the condition of something.

Such synonyms as deportment and demeanor, indicating the external conduct (our behavior, manner, and carriage) as manifesting the inner life, help us understand.

When the ideas of these two words are put together, they mean reverent in behavior. You see, our behavior stems from a state of mind, from what's going on (or not going on!) in our inner life, and God desires that the behavior of His women be reverent, behavior mirroring an internal sacred character.

As one scholar explains, reverent in behavior means "consecrated as priestesses." The idea is that we are to exhibit — physically and spiritually — in all of daily life, the demeanor of a temple priestess. Yes, priestlike defines the flavor of reverent behavior in that it is "befitting or becoming sacred persons." There is to be about our lives a reverential spirit of consecration and dedication that is consistent with the fact of our spiritual priesthood. As my pastor writes, this word reverent "has the root meaning of being priestlike and came to refer to that which is appropriate to holiness."

Living Out Godliness

That's quite a start, isn't it? Words such as "consecrated," "holy," "sacred," and "worship" speak loudly of a heart and mind set on our thrice-holy God and the worship of Him. Such a one has to have a soul preoccupied with God, a soul immersed in a constant state of worship of God, a soul completely consecrated to God. Such a soul... and such resulting behavior... would then certainly point others to God! Think now of the clergy and the women's choir in the cathedral at Canterbury. As I tried to express, they modeled for me what reverent behavior looks like, how one who is in a constant state of worship acts, and the inspiring effect one who is consumed with the worship of the Lord has on others.

Beloved, this is how you and I are to live our lives as women with a high calling. You see, our calling is to godly behavior, to sacred behavior, to holy behavior. Our conduct must complement our high calling in Christ. It must match our calling to be engaged in sacred things, the things of the Lord. We are to walk through the minutes and the hours, the days and the decades, of our life as a priestess would walk through and serve in a temple. We must live our lives as if all of life were a sacred assembly. We must apply to all of daily life the reverent demeanor, the sacred conduct, and the holy behavior of a priestess in a temple. That, dear one, is our high calling from God, a calling to godliness.

Yes, it is quite a picture! And so our lives, too, are to be lived with a demeanor and behavior, a state and a condition, that fits a holy woman, a woman who is reverent in her behavior, a woman who goes about the business of worshiping the God she loves and serves-day in and day out. Our reverential, godly behavior should include the whole habit and composition or structure of mind and body, encompassing not only the movements of the body, but also the expression of the countenance, and what is said and what is left unsaid.

Godliness Lived Out in Another

Are your thoughts reeling with images of priestesses and holy women? Well, it's always good to see such an awesome, otherworldly, hard-to-define quality like godliness lived out and fleshed out in other women. After all, as the saying instructs us, "One picture is worth a thousand words!" And when it comes to an older woman who was reverent and godly and holy in her behavior, you and I can thank the Lord for the woman in the Bible named Anna. Her story is found in Luke 2:36-38. In just three verses! But these three God-breathed verses brilliantly describe this holy woman who trusted in God (1 Peter 3:5) and show us a woman who was truly reverent in her behavior. Read them now.

Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Luke's words paint a poignant picture of this dear woman. From him we learn that Anna was an "older woman." An 84-year-old woman ("of a great age," explains Luke), Anna was widowed after only seven years of marriage. And Anna shows us (quite literally!) what it's like to live in a constant state of worship. What does a woman do who loves the Lord and is a widow? Well, our Anna apparently devoted herself to the continual service of God and of His temple. She was a constant, devout worshiper- not a casual attender or observer.

• She lived her life in the temple. Anna's life, which could have been a long, sad, and lonely one, was instead filled with glorious service to God and was centered on the temple, the worship of God, and the people who exalted Him there. Indeed, it appears that she never left the temple, but lived there on the temple grounds, serving God night and day.
• She lived her life in prayer and fasting. Both prayer and fasting are personal disciplines — quiet disciplines — requiring commitment, dedication, self-control, and consecration to God. Anna devoted herself to these quiet disciplines and to a quiet, serious life of loving and worshiping God.
• She lived her life in anticipation of the Savior. Like Simeon, who loved God and waited for God to save His people (Luke 2:25), Anna also looked for the Christ... and was blessed to see the baby Jesus when He was brought into the temple for the first time, to praise God for Him, and to speak of Jesus to all who entered the temple.

When I think of my own busy life and the multiple roles I must live out each day (and I know I'm not alone in this!), I have to admit I sometimes yearn for a quiet life... like Anna's, a life filled with quietly and constantly and literally worshiping our God. Imagine! One role-to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. In one place-the house of the Lord. And for all the days of your life! Anna, our model for reverent and holy behavior, was allowed, through the circumstances of her life, to fulfill (in fact!) the desire every one of God's people possesses, the desire the psalmist David dreamed of when he wrote, "One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple" (Psalm 27:4).

Following Our Calling to Godliness

But, while Anna literally and physically dwelt in the house of the Lord and walked in His temple and served Him there, you and I can (and are called to) do the same spiritually. How?

Pray — Prayer will most definitely affect our behavior! The act of prayer brings our soul into direct contact with the God we worship and love, so it stands to reason that the more we pray, the more we're aware of the presence of the Lord, and the more we reflect His beauty and godliness to others.

Here's a thought-my friend Judy visited an antique shop where she found a treasure the owner referred to as "a prayer clock." This unique timepiece chimed on every hour. That's nothing unusual. But her prayer clock also chimed at five minutes after every hour! Its first sound was a call to prayer and its second sound was the signal that prayertime was over. What a refreshing idea! Perhaps you can pause every hour for some holy minutes of prayer.

Purpose — to be more aware of God's presence.

Worship is an inward reverence, the bowing down of the soul in the presence of God,... a solemn consciousness of the Divine, a secret communion with the unseen.

As I said before, we know God is always present, indeed omnipresent. But the woman who lives her life in a constant state of worship and cultivates the habit of holiness lives her day-in, day-out life with a keen awareness of the very presence of God! So purpose to develop a solemn consciousness of the Divine and to deliberately bow down your soul in His presence. That awareness and God's enablement will cause you to be reverent in behavior.

Praise the Lord — Are you unsure of exactly how to praise the Lord? Or is life so sorrowful... or frantic... or complex... that it's difficult to praise Him? Why not follow the advice of another saint who recommended reading one Psalm out loud every day? Then allow the Psalm to feed your heart so that your lips gush with praise and worship to the Lord. As he explains,

You are to consider this [reading] of a psalm as a necessary beginning of your devotion, something that is to awaken all that is good and holy within you, that is to call your spirits to their proper duty, to set you in your best posture towards heaven, and tune all the powers of your soul to worship and adoration. For there is nothing that so clears a way for your prayers, nothing that so disperses dullness of heart, nothing that so purifies the soul from poor and careless passions, nothing that so opens heaven, or carries your heart so near to it, as these songs of praise.

And praise Him some more! — Perhaps the theme song of women who are (and seek to be) in a constant state of worship and live (and seek to live) their lives in reverent and holy behavior might be this:

Fill thou my life, O Lord my God, In every part with praise, That my whole being may proclaim Thy being and thy ways.

Not for the lip of praise alone, Nor e'en the praising heart, I ask, but for a life made up Of praise in every part.

Pick — a point for meditation. Thinking on a particular attribute of God, some act or teaching of Jesus, a promise from God's Word, or some calling from Scripture will tune your heart to the Lord. As you carry thoughts like these into your day's demands, your soul will shine and you will truly exhibit the presence of the Lord and the powerful effect of His Word on your life.

Prize — your high calling to reverent behavior. It's a calling to bask in the presence of the Lord! The consecrated, set-apart life of holiness is true bliss-not old-fashioned or undesirable. It doesn't mean that you can't laugh. Nor does it mean you're ungodly if you joke with your children! And it doesn't mean that you should turn into a sanctimonious, stiff, and prudish woman, wife, mother, or co-worker. No. But it does mean that you weed out antics, humor, sarcasm, stunts, and speech that are irreverent, and any other behaviors that have no place in the life of a woman who is called to be in continual fellowship with God. Own your high calling! Prize it! Revel in it! And excel in it!

Plan — to act in ways that attract attention to the Lord rather than to yourself. Make it your goal to behave (by God's grace!) in such a way that others are spiritually influenced and drawn into worship rather than distracted from it. May your life and the choices you make tell others of your wonderful God as you walk through life in a constant state of worship, as a priestess unto Him.

Ponder — your behavior and your choices, for by them you tell on yourself. This poem, although a little old and dated, definitely gets the point across!

Looking Upward

How is your high calling looking so far, dear friend? Here it is (or at least the first and foremost element of it): a calling to worship God in spirit and truth, to worship Him in the beauty of holiness. It's glorious! It's divine! It is a truly magnificent calling-there's no doubt about it. But, oh, to think of actually answering God's calling for godliness and godly behavior in our lives! (Can't you just taste it?!) Just think of the consummate joy God graces our lives with when we seek to be consumed with Him, to love Him supremely, to follow Him fully, to fill our hearts and minds, souls and spirits with His Holy Word and with holy thoughts of Him.

Can you fathom any higher calling? Any more important essential for godly living? Can you imagine any more wonderful way to spend your life and your time and your days and your moments than to spend them in the Lord, immersed in Him, looking to Him, desiring Him and the riches (and the richness! ) of His grace above and beyond all that this poor world offers? You and I, my precious sister, are above all others most blessed to possess such a glorious calling!

So, won't you please look to Him now? Turn your gaze upward, toward your high calling. It's a fact that the first step toward any noble goal is to desire it. And what a truly "godly" goal it is to follow God's will for your life and to set your affections on truly desiring to become this woman the Bible exalts so highly and points us to-a woman whose whole soul is absorbed in worshiping Him.