The Perfect Righteousness of God

Last week, on FB, my friend Elizabeth asked everyone to share their favorite hymns. I have a lot of favorites. Probably 10-15. I like robust hymns! I like hymns with great back ground stories. I like hymns with deep and high thoughts of God. I like hymns chock full of doctrine. I have shared a few of my favorites here on the blog. For a list, check out the "favorites aka archives" page and scroll down to Hymns and Haws.

Well, way back a LONG time ago, Mr. Hippie decided to teach the boys a new hymn every few weeks. And he didn't pick little Sunday School ditties either. And that is when I first heard this hymn that has become one of my favorites.

The perfect righteousness of God
Is witnessed in the Saviour's blood;
'Tis in the cross of Christ we trace
His righteousness, yet wondrous grace.

God could not pass the sinner by,
Justice demands that he should die;
But in the cross of Christ we see
How God can save, yet righteous be.

The judgment fell on Jesus' head,
'Twas in His blood sin's debt was paid;
Stern Justice can demand no more,
And Mercy can dispense her store.

The sinner who believes is free,
Can say, "The Saviour died for me:"
Can point to the atoning blood,
And say, "This made my peace with God."

The Perfect Righteousness of God was penned by Albert Midlane, sometime in the mid to late 1800s. Mr. Midlane was born, lived and died on the Isle of Wight. He wrote over 300 hymns and 1100 poems, the first of which was published when he was 17 years old. He was most known for a popular children's hymn that he wrote in 1859, There's a Friend for Little Children. It was translated into many languages around the globe.

I love The Perfect Righteousness of God because of the deep theology it embodies. It tackles the thoughts of justice being served and mercy being extended. It shows how this mercy is based on Jesus Christ's innocent blood being shed on the cross, thus meeting God's standard of righteousness. It demonstrates that there can be no peace without the (sin) problem being dealt with. Through the cross, all the facets of God's character were shown and were satisfied. 

His wrath and love. His anger and judgment. His righteousness and atonement. His justice and mercy. His holiness and sacrifice. His grace and peace.

And that is a profound thought!

What's your favorite hymn or Christian song? Why? Leave me a comment.

Proverbs 31 Woman Vs. A Virtuous Woman

No, I don't think they are the same thing. And now I've got you hooked. You have to keep reading to see if I am promoting some heresy. 

Rarity
“Oh! certainly,” cried his faithful assistant, “no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, all the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.”

“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”

“I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any.” Pride and Prejudice

Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. Proverbs 31:10

 Except for the opening words of Pride and Prejudice (It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Jane really knew how to start things with a bang, didn't she!), these are probably my most favorite lines from that classic.

Darcy's accomplished woman was extremely rare.

King Lemuel's mother's "virtuous" woman was just as rare.

Virtue and Rubies
Most regular readers of my blog will realize that I like the dictionary. If I am wondering what a word really means...out comes Webster's.

Virtuous means having or showing high moral standards, chaste. Possessing or characterized by chastity; pure.

A virtuous woman is hard to find. A virtuous woman's worth is far more than costly rubies.

To put this in perspective:

"Ruby is the red variety of corundum. It is quite a bit rarer than the blue gems. The rarity combined with the demand for rich red gems keeps the price very high. Among rubies though, there is no shortage of small gems, the kind used in cluster rings. They are somewhat expensive, but readily available. It is when you get into gems of a carat of more that they get really expensive. Good quality rubies in this size range are few and far between. The law of supply and demand is really obvious here. While many people would like a full carat ruby, few have the thousands of dollars needed to purchase one." (source)

Virtuous women are rare.

What I wore Sunday. New lbd.
LC was doing something weird here.

Two Sides of the Coin
I have grown up in circles where the Proverbs 31 woman is the paean of examples. She is the woman that all Christian women should aim to be like.

I've read magazines, done Bible studies, and read books to this end. And there are still books being written, and blogs, devoted to pursuing Proverbs 31 excellence.

And then there is the other crowd who completely despises her. I mean "who weaves clothe and churns their own butter anymore?" The Proverbs 31 woman is a standard that just can't be attained. This is one of those chapters of the Bible we'd rather not be included. So it is scoffed at or ignored.

Well, my own personal opinion is that we aren't supposed to be like the Proverbs 31 woman. That should not be our aim. (bear with me here)

Christian ladies are supposed to be like Jesus Christ. We are to be little Christs-not Proverbs 31 women. We are to imitate His example, and allow the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit in our lives.

And by aiming to imitate Jesus Christ, and be conformed to His image, we will actually become more like the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31.

at $6, better than a thrift find. Scarf as a headband or around neck.

Not Semantics
I have found that if you are aiming to be like the Proverbs 31 woman, that emphasis tends to end up on the outward things she did. We even have our own modern interpretations and adaptions of those skills.

But, the emphasis in Proverbs 31 about the virtuous woman is moral character, not home making skills. The inner life leads to the outer actions.

This is not to say that I am not all about thriving in your home atmosphere, because I am. I do the sewing, and home business, and home schooling and cooking and gardening. 

This might make me a Proverbs 31 woman, but it doesn't make me a virtuous woman.

Let's take a look at the character words and some actions listed in Proverbs 31.

v.11-12-the heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, he shall have no fear of spoil; she will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. Here she is described as trust worthy, dependable. She is frugal not a spend thrift.

v. 13-19, 21-these verses describe her industry and diligence. The woman of virtue works hard. She provides for her family. They aren't running around hungry and naked.

v. 15-rises while it is yet night...she is an early riser. Early differs from person to person. But successful people are almost always early risers. There have been studies that prove this.

v.22-while the emphasis is not on outward appearance, she is a smart dresser. Her clothing is silk and purple. Silk and purple were the quality clothe available back then. She wasn't wearing rags. When I think of this verse, I think of one of my good friends. Recently someone complimented her on a skirt she was wearing. She said she had had it for probably 20 years. It was quality and classic.

v.23-her husband has a good reputation, and her behavior and character doesn't detract from that.

v.24-she has a home business. I am seeing this a lot in our generation what with Etsy shops, and blogs, and all that kind of stuff. Women earning this generation's version of "egg money."

From v. 25-31, the queen mother is on a role.
Strength and honor are her clothing.
She will rejoice in the future.
She opens her mouth with wisdom.
Her tongue is ruled by a law of kindness.
She looks well to the ways of her household.
She isn't idle.
Her children and husband call her blessed.

Many daughters have done virtuously BUT  you surpass them all. Favor (popularity, followers, likes) is deceitful, beauty is vain. But a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates.

What are you going to do?
If you focus on doing all the outward things the virtuous woman did, you are going to miss the mark, because you are missing the heart.

If, however, you focus on being like Christ, and having these character qualities developed in your life, your reward and end result is going to look a lot like this elusive and rare virtuous woman.

Whether you are married or single, young or old, you can be this woman.

What are you aiming for? Which woman do you want to be when you grow up-the Proverbs 31 woman or the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31?

*just wanted to let you know that on Thursday, I am going to write a letter to one of this century's virtuous women. You just might want to check back, because there is going to be a pretty neat giveaway involved.

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Who's the Fairest of Them All?

Last night, Mr. Hippie and I went on a date. We had dinner at PF Chang's, using two gift cards we had been given. We had their amazing crab wontons. Filled with crab meat-not just lots of cream cheese and a little crab. I had the Mongolian beef. Mr. Hippie had the sesame chicken. We shared the "great wall of China." It was all delicious. It tasted good, and healthy. I didn't feel like I was ingesting a ton of grease. It was a nice experience.
Then we decided to watch a movie, and date night went down hill. Mr. Hippie had gotten a good recommendation for Snow White and the Huntsmen from one of his employees. (I'll never go on S's recommendation again.) It was weird. It was disturbing. It was intense. And I was freaked out the entire time. Here's the thing. I don't do fanciful-intense well at all. I can dismiss Harry Potter, or action flicks, because they aren't real. But a lot of sci-fi or fanciful is too real for me. And I have a hard time letting it go. This seemed rather evil. And I was scared. There was magic, and creepiness, and weird fairy things. It was weird. Have I said that yet?
I should point out that Snow White has never been my favorite Disney flick. I like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. We had seen the previews for Mirror, Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman. I remember remarking to Mr. Hippie that I would like to see Mirror, Mirror. I also remember remarking that I didn't think Snow White and the Huntsmen was going to be my thing. I like Julia Roberts. Mirror, Mirror seems like it is lighter and funnier. Snow White and the Huntsman seems like it incorporated a lot of the scarier elements of the Disney movie without the lightness. They made it realistic. I don't know how else to describe it.
Regardless, the point of this post is not to review the movie.
I was hit three different times yesterday with the idea of what true beauty is. Twice it was on blogs, and the final time it was through this movie.
Ravenna was beautiful. (Charlize Theron) Snow White was beautiful. Ravenna was manipulating, powerful, selfish, and scary. Snow White's mom told her that she had been gifted with great beauty, and then she said, "in here"-pointing to Snow White's heart. Ravenna was outwardly beautiful. No one would deny that. But she wanted no one to rival her beauty. She literally sucked the beauty out of any girl who came close to rivaling her. She used her beauty as a weapon, and couldn't allow beauty in others.
Beauty is a topic on all women's hearts. I have blogged about it before in Real Women Have.... We are fed a line that beauty is being a size 0 or 2. No wrinkles. No lumps or bumps. No gray hair. No baby bellies.

I am a firm believer in women's fitness. I don't think we should let ourselves go to pot. I think we should put effort into our appearance for our husbands. But, I know that Mr. Hippie thinks I am beautiful even when I am huge with his babies. He thinks my wrinkly four-baby baby belly is beautiful. He think my curves are beautiful. He thinks I am beautiful even when I don't think I am beautiful. (we actually have a running joke that I sing, "you are beautiful no matter what they say, words can't bring you down. Today!" whenever he says I am beautiful but I am not feeling very beautiful.=)) And I appreciate that he is my cheerleader, and loves me on the good hair days and on the bad. I will also say that I feel more beautiful when I put a bit of effort into my outward appearance. When I run, and eat right, and put on a bit of make up, and do my hair. Not tons of effort. But a bit.

Beauty is fading. Beauty should be more than skin deep. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty can be a snare. Beauty can be a burden. Beauty can be a blessing.

But, the fact of the matter is, while the world looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart.
Charm is deceitful, beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord-she shall be praised. The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is of inestimable value in God's sight. Outward adoring doesn't cut it in book. Several times we are told to worship God in the beauty of holiness.
What is truly beautiful?
God thinks holiness is beautiful. Holiness is being separated from sin and evil. Being pure. There is something fundamentally beautiful about purity. Think of freshly fallen snow. That's beautiful. This reminds me of Philippians 4:8-whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, praise worthy-think about such things.

I love the advertisement in Annie , "you're never fully dressed without a smile." Joy and peace are beautiful. When joy and peace are in your heart, they spill out onto your face. And smiles are beautiful.
Esther was beautiful. You totally get that reading her book. But, what drew people to her? Was it her beauty? I think it was more than that. I think it was her spirit. You get the feeling that she was kind and considerate. That she put others and their welfare before her own. And it was beautiful.

What is the moral of this ramble? I think we need to focus more on our heart, and our character than on outward beauty. We need to instill in our daughters, and in our sons, that outward beauty is not the end all. We want them to focus on having a heart like God, and on valuing that in others.
We can't insulate our kids from the cruelness of our outward beauty obsessed culture. We can teach them to accept everyone, no matter how they look. We can love on our kids, and affirm them. Affirm their character. Affirm their uniqueness.

And we can complain less about our lumps and bumps, and be thankful for what each flaw represents in our lives. We can break the cycle. We can be proactive about loving our bodies how they are. We can be proactive about seeking the Lord, and asking Him to develop His character in our hearts. We can ask God to make us beautiful inside.
Just like Snow White told Ravenna, "you can't have my heart," so we can tell the world that. Our culture isn't going to define me and my beauty. God has my heart, and He has already spoken to it.

embrace the camera linkup

So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. For He is thy Lord, and worship thou Him. Psalm 45:11
This is true beauty. The fairest of them all...