Ladyship

12/26/2016

2 John 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. – St. John

Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain was known as the Iron Lady; the old girl was unbending in her administration of her job, ideology, and rule. Maggie, as she was informally known, was one tough broad in a world full of men and the slimy world of politics. It takes a certain kind to be a politician, and to be a woman, in the midst of that world, requires a toughness that defies belief. The Iron Lady fought against an ideology beyond an Iron Curtain. Tough times require tough leaders.

Alas, Thatcher, merely a woman, a human, eventually, like all humans do, passed on and away.  She faithfully served her monarchy and the British people, and despite the attacks from without and within, she prevailed. Perhaps being iron-willed is a necessary ingredient in leaders of both genders.

John the apostle (acquainted with iron himself) addressed a letter to a church in an undisclosed ancient location as: Dear Lady. John may have been using some sort of code language, but it’s important that we note that of all the stuff written in the Scripture, only here in 2 John is a church addressed as a Lady.

Lady-ship is mostly lost on modern western culture. That isn’t to say there aren’t ladies, but it is to say that lady-ship isn’t as admired these days as it once was. Beauty, wit, and charm are sought after, but lady-ship is somewhat dusty, musty, and underutilized. I do have a question: do you think of the Church you go to as dear Lady? John would have. The Church is a Lady supposed to be adorned with truth, grace, and love. Hmmm… If our churches don’t have that, what do they have? What do we call them?

Lady-ship ought to be grace, and elegance in a world desperately in need of something other than what our world holds forth as something to be admired and aspired. The Church ought to be that which is set apart to where the world takes notice and wonders what makes her, her.

Modern men aren’t really into the Bride-of-Christ thing, they get squeamish at the bride concept; however, they seem to have no problem calling warships and other machines (no matter their size or use) her. The greatest group of people on the face of the earth ought to at least garner the nickname Lady. The world is in desperate need of ladies (and we don’t mean the kind you find on the backstreets of cities or in the truck stops…)

A true lady is a leader. She is endowed with wisdom, grace, truth, love, godliness, and all the virtues of virtue. But lest we throw our pearls to pigs, we need to remember that no matter what John called the churches he was aware of, the rest of the world has little use for church-ladies as it strives and hurtles downward toward the lowest common denominator.

Try as I might, I’m going to accept my local Lady full of broken and fallen people in search of a Savior to meet their needs and equip them for ministry. I will pray that we rise to the moniker Lady despite who we are, and how we are. The Church isn’t perfect, she is, however, called.

Father, may we be the Church and may we display Your grace and truth to the world around us no matter what they think of us; or call us. May I be part of the solution in helping a lost world see the light You have called Your Church, Your Bride. Amen