Every little girl has dreams of being swept up into a great adventure, of being the beautiful princess. Sadly, when women grow up, they are often swept up into a life filled merely with duty and demands. Many Christian women are tired, struggling under the weight of the pressure to be a "good servant," a nurturing caregiver, or a capable home manager.
What Wild at Heart did for men, Captivating can do for women. This groundbreaking book shows readers the glorious design of women before the fall, describes how the feminine heart can be restored, and casts a vision for the power, freedom, and beauty of a woman released to be all she was meant to be. By revealing the core desires every woman shares-to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure, and to unveil beauty-John and Stasi Eldredge invite women to recover their feminine hearts, created in the image of an intimate and passionate God. Further, they encourage men to discover the secret of a woman's soul and to delight in the beauty and strength women were created to offer.
Published in 2005 by John Eldredge and his wife Stasi, it proposes that women have three core desires: "to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil beauty."
Excerpt from the last chapter of “Captivating” by John and Stasi Eldgredge:
“Jesus knew who he was. He knew where he had come from and where he was going. He knew why he was here. And so, in power and strength, in humility and complete freedom, he offers. He ministers to and ultimately pours out his life as an offering for ours. Pleasing and holy and acceptable. Jesus does this, he says, as ‘an example that you should do as I have done for you’ (v.15).
God really does want to know who YOU are. He wants you to be able to understand the story of your life, to know where you have come from, and to know where you are going. There is freedom there. Freedome to be and to offer and to love. So, may we take a moment and remind you who you truly are?
~You are a woman. An image bearer of God. The Crown of Creation. You were chosen before time and space, and you are wholly and deeply loved. You are sought after, pursued, and romanced, the passionate desire of your Fiance, Jesus. You are dangerous in your beauty and your life-giving power. And you are needed.
As a woman who has been ransomed and redeemed, you can be strong and tender. You speak to the world of God’s mercy, mystery, beauty, and his desire for intimate relationship. You are inviting; You can risk being vulnerable, offering the weight of your life as well as your need for more because you are safe in God’s love. You labor with God to bring forth life–in creativity, in work, in others. Your aching, awakened heart leads you to the feet of Jesus, where you wait on him and wait for him. The eyes of his heart are ever upon you. The King is captivated by your beauty.
We need you. We need you to awaken to God more fully and to awaken to the desires of the heart that he placed within you so that you will come alive to him and to the role that is yours to play. Perhaps you are meant to be a concert musician or a teacher. Perhaps you are meant to be a neurologist or horse trainer. Perhaps you are to be an activist for ecology or the poor or the aged or the ill. You are certainly called to be a woman, wherever else he leades you.
And that is crucial, dear heart. Whatever your particular calling, you are meant to grace the world with your dance, to follow the lead of Jesus wherever he leads you. He will lead you first to himself; and then, with him, he will lead you into the world that he loves and needs you to love.
It is by invitation.
Jesus is extending his hand to you. He is inviting you to dance with him. He asks, ‘May I have this dance . . . every day of your life?’ His gaze is fixed on you. He is captivated by your beauty. He is smiling. He cares nothing of the opinion of others. He is standing. He will lead. He waits for your response.
My lover spoke and said to me,
‘Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, and come with me.’ (Song of Solomon 2:10).”
No comments:
Post a Comment