Regardless of whether the saying “Cangjie (倉頡) invented the words that contained mysteries only known to heaven”1 is true or not, at least the word “good” (好) is worthy of our repeated scrutiny. After all, in a culture that has emphasized men over women for thousands of years, it is indeed not a simple coincidence that the word “woman” (女) and “man” (子) together are stated to be “good” (好).
Even so, the ancient records of Chinese culture cannot be compared to the proclamation and revelation of “In the beginning, God…” (Genesis 1:1). With the Creator’s elaborate sequencing and ingenious creation, the first woman arrived with a mission of indispensability, led by the hand of her deeply loving Heavenly Father to the waiting the first man and the watchful anticipation of all creatures. This marked the first marriage in human history. Moreover, before her creation, the great Creator, seeing the man alone, made the first deliberate evaluation: “It is not good that the man should be alone,” followed immediately by a mission statement, “I will make a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). Thus, the appearance of the woman highlighted the intentional act of God the Father and was neither a correction nor a compensation. Looking at his perfect work, from his great and eternal perspective, the Lord of the universe exclaimed that it was “Very good! Excellent! Perfect! Awesome! Great! I am very pleased! Done!” (Genesis 1:31).
In this light, if the life of every woman were founded upon this evaluation and declaration, from where then would come the many problems that trouble us today? Severe lack of love, identity crisis, fear of old age and ugliness, low self-esteem, bitterness, anxiety, vanity, power, control, freak-outs…and so on. It seems that the original state of goodness created by God at the beginning has been corrupted. The crisis of womanhood rages and tears through our lives like a flood or a wild beast when we lose the correct understanding and application of our identity, value, and purpose, leaving us in a constant state of anxiety. Our days are filled with all sorts of “not good” or “not good enough” estimations whether towards others or ourselves, and we are unable to face them with gratitude and joy. The demure little woman stereotype and the extreme big feminism ideology, mixed with disturbances from the world and dark forces, have twisted, withered, and decayed many originally beautiful lives, leading them to fall.
We have become lost little girls, desperately searching for that initial honor and love. It is only on this journey that we discover that the first doubt of the first woman was actually a questioning of the Creator’s very good! “Really? I want to discern good from evil, I can set the standard for good and bad, I want to be in charge, I want men to listen to me!” And just like that, we have fallen outside of God’s standard, into a world that lacks any good at all.
How, then, can we restore the original state of normalcy?
The only way is to return! To return, to turn back to the order and plan of the original creation, to wholeheartedly accept God’s design, and to joyfully be a woman after his own heart!
This return is not the human-centered “self-esteem and self-love,” or “feminist movement” advocated by postmodernism, nor is it the presumption that being a woman is good in itself, and that without men everything will no longer be difficult. Instead, it is about seeing ourselves as God sees us through his only begotten Son Jesus, as his beloved, in whom he is well pleased. On the one hand, women deeply understand that apart from the gospel of Christ, we are nothing and it is impossible to be good again; on the other hand, we are assured that in the kindness and faithfulness of God, we have always been engraved on his heart! Our new identity in Christ allows us to bravely face everything that being a woman entails, including the good and the bad, the highs and lows, the smooth paths and the dangers, the responsibilities and missions, the burdens and challenges. Even if the world, Satan, or our own sin constantly seek to deceive us, we can, by fixing our eyes on God, bravely and strongly maintain our feminine identity, being humble and submissive, gentle and quiet, treating others with grace, and constantly declaring: “but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).
Blessings to all women who follow God’s will, living out an abundant life that is beyond what the word “good” can even describe!
Editor’s note: This article was originally written in Chinese and translated by the ChinaSource team.
Endnotes
- 倉頡造字，蘊藏天機：According to legend, Cangjie created Chinese characters that held divine secrets. Cangjie was the legendary creator of Chinese writing. For more information see “Cangjie and the Invention of Chinese Characters,” Nspirement, accessed February 26, 2024, https://nspirement.com/2018/02/08/cangjie-and-the-invention-of-chinese-characters.html.
Image credit: Edwin Andrade via UnSplash.
Joy Cheng
Dr. Joy Cheng serves as the Director of the Chinese Ministry Programming Department at Far East Broadcasting Company, USA. She holds a doctorate in Pastoral Ministry with a focus on Marriage and Family Ministry from Dallas Theological Seminary. She is the founder of the Far East Family Ministry Training Center. …View Full Bio
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