Joan, Hephzibah,
My LORD Favors Me

"你們不要以外面的辫頭髮, 戴金飾, 穿美衣為裝飾, 只要以裡面存著長久溫柔、 安靜的心為裝飾; 這在 神面前是極為寶貴的。因為古時仰賴神的聖潔婦人正式以此為裝飾, 順服自己的丈夫, 就如撒拉聽從亞伯拉罕, 稱他為主。你們若行善，不因恐嚇而害怕, 便是撒拉的女兒了 。"


"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."

------- 1 Peter 3:3~6

看中文, 我總是不以為然。那個一般所謂的"長久溫柔安靜的心", 對我而言類近中國古代女子的三從四德 --- 若有這些就是被稱讚的了。這樣的三從四德顯然我是沒有的, 並且我"喜歡"那些外面漂亮的裝飾 --- so? 我不是一個"聖潔婦人"? 我想, 要不我自己的形象因文化社會背景而被矮化, 要不就是所謂的"溫柔安靜的心", 並非照一般人所以為的溫柔安靜而言。


1 Peter 3:1~7並沒有說我們不可以打扮自己, 但在v.3寫到"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment", 所以appearance can be beautiful, but our beauty "should come from our inner selves, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit". In other words, our inner beauties should outshine our outward appearances. 這樣的"inner beauty"是 神所看為至寶, 極為美好, 是值得的 --- 這正好是我今年第三個生日願望, 而 神在教導我, 並告訴我祂要如何幫助我完成這個願望。




因此可以得到以下幾個reflections:



1. There’s nothing wrong for a woman wants to be beautiful.


如同"Captivative"裡所寫的, 女人的大哉問是"我美麗嗎?"。就算是聖潔專心仰望 神的女人, 也是希望自己美麗的, 就像人們追求智慧一般。(v.5 shows “This is how the holy women, women who put their hope in God, use to make themselves beautiful” ).只是在層次上與一般追求外貌的女子不太相同, 她們追求的是更美的, 是unfading beauty, which also means irreplaceable and impeccable beauty, 是外在的裝飾相形失色的。



2. God loves my 3rd. Birthday wish, even some people think it's immature.


大多數人聽見我這第三個"希望自己裡面的自己與外面的自己都變成美女"的願望時, 都會覺得"真是浪費, 許這樣的願望" --- 特別我的生日願望素來是會被成就的。然而, 神說, 祂喜悅我的願望, 祂看女人的beauty是極寶貴的, 在是祂眼中是有價值, 有存在感, 是祂所愛的, which He values as great worth。



3. What is “the beauty of that spirit”?


至少我確定一定不是人們一般所以為的溫柔不講話而已。因為v.6b "You are her (Sarah) daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear." 這與一般人們認定近乎軟弱的溫柔並不一樣, 反而比較像"Jesus, Mean and Wild"裡所描述的耶穌。祂一般被人們塑造成軟弱的好人形象, 然而人們所以為meek and mild的耶穌, 其實卻是mean and wild的。而更進一步的, 祂的mean and wild正是來自於祂真實的gentle and humble, and true love for human being。因此既然 神沒有給女人一個軟弱流淚的形象, 那麼我們也不用自己去營造一個會fade, 並非出色的外型。因為當pursue美麗時, 神仍舊以耶穌的形象做為榜樣。一個不give way to fear, 一個do what is right according to Biblical teachings, 一個在suffering中, 各樣trials中生出perseverance, faith, and firm hope的形象 --- this is the image considered beautiful and impeccable.



4. Do I have that spirit and the beauty of that spirit?


I guess I’m on the half way to the beauty that God values as great worth. From the reflections above, I can be sure that God is the one who designs the trials/sufferings of the past half year. He uses them not only serve for shaping my characters, but also keeps his promises building up my beauty as well........Orz