Captivating: What Eve Alone Can Tell

Hi, Friends! Thanks for joining me again this week! I first want to start by saying that you have made it to another Monday which is a blessing in itself! Sometimes we get bogged down by to-do lists, wants, dreams, ambitions and we forget to be grateful for what we have. I would just like to take a second to be grateful for all of you who are taking time to read this silly little blog of mine. And, to remember all that I have, thanks to the Lord, a loving family, great friends, and a relationship with my creator.

As we jump into Chapter 2 of Captivating, remember that the last chapter (you can click here to read last week’s blog if you missed it) talked about the desires of a woman: to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil beauty. Well, in this chapter we look at what the very first woman in the Bible, Eve, has to teach us.

First, Stasi talks about creation. And, I love this, because she compares creation to art.

“Creation itself is a great work of art, and all works after it are echoes of the original.”

Stasi talks about how darkness filled the Earth, and day by day God began to create. His final piece of art was woman. She is the finishing touch to his creation, as if life is not complete without her. So, if you are a woman, know that you mean so much to God (men, don’t worry you do too!). This world is not complete without you. And, if you are a man who has a woman in his life, know that you are also a piece of art, and you are called to admire woman as the finishing touch, the icing on the cake if you will.

As we look at Eve in this chapter, you will start to realize that all those desires we talked about earlier were intentional. God is relational and he has a heart for romance, he desires to be with us in our big adventures (which we would be incapable without him). And, just as we want to be looked at as captivating, God is captivating and powerful.

“It is not good for the human to be alone, I shall make him a sustainer beside him” Genesis 2:18

Ok, I don’t know about you and your significant others or your friendships, but I look at mine and I crave relationships with other people all the time! And, my husband would be content having community every once and awhile, but really he’s alright just sitting at home and hanging. Relationships are one of woman’s top priorities, above almost anything else. What does that tell us about God?

“The vast desire and capacity a woman has for intimate relationships tells us of God’s vast desire and capacity for intimate relationships. In fact, this may be the most important thing we ever learn about God—That he yearns for relationship with us.”

Isn’t it crazy that the God of the universe craves a relationship with us? Sometimes it is so hard for me to fathom, because I have so many faults. Why would he want to talk with me and spend time with me? But, God is the one that made us just the way we are with the hope that we would lean on him and share a relationship with him.

“Life changes dramatically when romance comes into our lives,”

Just think about how your schedule changes, your priorities change, your mood changes, so many things differ when romance becomes a part of our lives.

“…Christianity changes dramatically when we discover that it, too, is a great romance.”

Eve was created as Adam’s helper and partner, which in turn means that she will be with him through life. She will be a part of the grand adventure they will venture on and through together.

The last talking point in this chapter is about a beauty revealed. Take a second and think about nature. From the mountains, to the beaches, the flowers and the animals, nature is beautiful. Nature is as we said before God’s artwork. Now think about how this same nature is a display from God. I love that Stasi says,

“Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful. Stop for a moment and let that sink in. We’re so used to evaluating everything (and everyone) by their usefulness that this thought will take a minute or tow to begin to dawn on us. Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful. Which is to say, beauty is in and of itself a great and glorious good, something we need in large and daily doses (for our God has seen fit to arrange for this). Nature at the height of its glory shouts, Beauty is Essential! revealing that Beauty is the essence of God. The whole world is full of his glory.”

John Eldredge states in his book Wild At Heart:

“The reason a woman wants a beauty to unveil, the reason she asks, Do you delight in me? is simply that God does as well. God is captivating beauty.”

This next quote from Stasi really hit home, because if I’m honest I feel like I have almost thought I was to ignore outer beauty and only focus on my inner beauty as a Christian. I have felt bad for the desire to be beautiful. But she really gives me something to think about when she says,

“Yes, the world cheapens and prostitutes beauty, making it all about a perfect figure few women can attain. But Christians minimize it too, or over spiritualize it, making it all about ‘character.’ We must recover the prize of beauty. The church must take it back. Beauty is too vital to lose. God gave Eve a beautiful form and a beautiful spirit. She expresses beauty in both. Better, she expresses beauty simply in who she is. Like God, it is in her essence.”

Once we realize and accept that it is okay to embrace outer and inner beauty, we may start to wonder, does beauty matter? I love her analogy of traffic. Everyone dislikes traffic and I think that’s putting it lightly. Think of your mood when you’ve just gotten off work from a long day and the roads are packed. Instead of your normal 20 minute commute it pushes close to an hour with sirens, accidents, people yelling, etc. She compares it to coming home to a beautiful space, a beach, a meadow somewhere where you soul finds rest. When we walk into the second scenario we feel at peace. Beauty makes that attainable for us.

Beauty Invites: Think about music, beautiful lyrics and how it draws you in.

Beauty Nourishes: Think of a mother nourishing her baby. Her body is actually sustaining life for another human life. What a beautiful picture.

Beauty Inspires: Just picture that cotton candy sunrise, or beautiful marriage that inspires you to take a look at yourself, to stop and appreciate.

Beauty is Transcendent: “It is our most immediate experience of the eternal.”

That covers beauty, but why is there a beauty to unveil? Most woman have a little bit of mystery to them. As a woman is pursued and sought after, she allows you to know her more more fully. She reveals more beauty.

“You are the image bearer of this God. That is why you long for those things too. There is a radiance hidden in your heart that the world desperately needs.”

Women, go out this week and share your beauty with the world! Men, pursue your women and draw out the beauty that is just waiting to be revealed. Make sure the world sees her beauty as God created her.

Want to Read More From this Blog Series? 

Motivation | Marriage | Mondays

Captivating: The Heart of a Woman