BECOMING A KINGDOM WOMAN, Part Two, In The Making

A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

A diamond in the rough, is a diamond sure enough, but before it ever sparkles, it is made of diamond stuff.  But first someone must find it, or else it won't be found.  And then someone must ground it, or else it won't be ground.  But when it's found and when it's ground and when it's burnished bright, that diamond everlastingly just flashes out its light...(anonymous author)

In week two of our Kingdom Woman study we learned that like precious diamonds we all start out dirty and flawed! What a relief it was for many of us who thought a Kingdom woman had to be perfect!  I mean isn't that the rhetoric we've been hearing for years?  At almost every Women's Day program I've attended, the icon of the Christian woman, The Proverbs 31 Woman has been presented in one form or another.  You know the one who rises while it's still night and whose lamp does not go out at night fall.  Whose house and family are well appointed and happy.  Who sells real estate and feeds her entire household.  But did you notice in verse 15 that she had hand maidens?  Girl friend, had some help with all that work!

Dealing with our past was in a question that turned up the discussion knob last week.  It had to do with disclosure or the level of transparency needed when giving a personal testimony. Chrystal Evans Hurst used the Samaritan Woman, of John 4 as an example.  She called her the Kimberlite woman, referencing the dirty, rock like substance that covers all diamonds before it is mined. This was a woman with a past...a dark, dark past!  Yet, Jesus Christ purposely sought her out to share His love with her! 

Imagine that!  Christ, Himself, digging through the dirt and mire of her past sexual relationships to let her know that the only relationship that mattered was the one she has with Him!  If you follow the scripture lesson, you'll see that she tried to evade it too but after this encounter with Christ, she hurriedly ran through the town testifying  in John 4:29, to come see a Man who told me all things I ever did.  

So the question remains.  How much should you tell about your past when giving testimony of the transformation that took place after meeting Christ?  It's simple...as much as the Holy Spirit prompts you at any given time!  If He prompts you to share, believe me somebody out there needs to hear it and profit from it!  Guilt and shame about our past is one tool that the Enemy uses to keep us in bondage but it has no validity (Romans 8:1).  Nobody wants to dish out dirt on themselves and of course we never want to be gossip fodder even if it's only among good church folks.  Note I said church folks not Saints...there's a difference you know!

But as a good friend reminded me, and which was repeated more than once in our study, becoming a Kingdom Woman is a process!  Being absolutely transparent about our past is one of those rough hills we must climb to claim what every Kingdom Woman must have--Authenticity!  The courage to be real has more than one of us, dusting off kimberlite, but it gets easier the more you realize just how amazing God's grace is in your life. 

Chrystal described it like this.  It is the realization that...What Jesus did for one, He can do for you!   It truly does keep us humble, compassionate, and sensitive to sisters who are still making their way, tracking kimberlite dust all the way!  Be Encouraged!