Monday, July 9, 2012

Cornerstones For The Lord

~Nancy Goring

Do you feel important in the church? Do you feel needed? For some strange reason, many Christian women do not, and are plagued with feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. This should not be so. These feelings will only lead to a lack of spirituality and limit one’s service to Jehovah God. Granted, men are to be in the leadership role, but God has always had a high regard for the one whom He created as a help meet for man. The Lord’s church is in desperate need of pure, holy, godly women who will assume their God-given role with passion, vigor and joy.  Consider, if you will, the fact that over fifty percent of the church is made up of women. If we take away their abilities and service to the Lord, the church is in dire straits! Jesus knew that women were important to the kingdom. We see in His personal ministry that He used the Samaritan woman at the well to spread the news that the Messiah had come (John 4:25-30). Remember Mary who washed His feet with precious ointment and dried them with her hair (Matthew 26:7-13). And what about the women who ran to the tomb and found it empty? John 20:18 tells us how Mary Magdalene ran and told the disciples that He was no longer in the grave. Yes, women were, are and ever will be a very important part of the kingdom. The psalmist states in Psalm 144:12, “…that our daughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of the palace.” Now we all know how important a cornerstone is. It’s imperative for the structure to be strong, but also, it was designed to be a thing of beauty. Think about this for a minute. We are being compared to that which is foundational as well as beautiful. Form and Function.  Barnes says the Hebrew word cornerstone is zaawiyowt and only occurs in the plural form meaning corners. It is used respecting the corners of an altar and he further states that it seems to refer to the corners of a palace or temple. Now put that together with the word polished, which instead of meaning smoothing or polishing, actually means a cutting or sculpting, and you get the idea of a carefully cut stone like an ornament. Okay, we’re almost there. Add to that “after the similitude of the palace,” and we have a literal translation, “the likeness or model of a temple.” Putting all of this together we get a full picture of our daughters, ourselves. We are compared to the beautiful, ornamental columns of a temple or palace, having grace, symmetry, fair proportions on which the skill of the sculptor is most abundantly lavished. We are also holding up or supporting something. Does that sound to you like someone who would feel unimportant or disregarded; of no value? We are foundational, which is needful, and ornamental, beautiful, in spirit, giving glory. When you look in the mirror, is that what you see? Do you see a strong woman of God who is beautiful in mind, heart and spirit, who is important and instrumental in spreading the gospel of our Lord just as our sisters of old did? Is there a woman of glory who magnifies God looking back at you?  I pray that every Christian woman will study fervently, love with all her heart and strive to serve Him according to His will with all the strength and might that she has, and remember how valuable she is to the kingdom of God. May God bless each of you to His service.

Nancy is the wife of Bill Goring, who serves as a gospel preacher and elder for the Chipman Road church of Christ in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. She has 4 children, 11 grandchildren and has taught Bible class for over 40 years, speaks at Ladies Day gatherings and has published several books including: Behavior Becoming Holiness: Studies in Titus Chapter 2 and Overcoming our Self-Imposed Prisons.

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