Designed for Joy

Designed for Joy: How the Gospel Impacts Men and Women, Identity and Practice
By: Owen Strachan & Jonathan Parnell

I really enjoyed this book. Although, I feel like it was a stronger read for men than for women. I found the 'woman chapters' a bit lacking. They seemed a bit flowery and anecdotal to me, I would have liked to have read more concrete examples or 'lists' as found in the 'man chapters.' (I think it would be best read in conjunction with Wayne Grudem's book 'Evangelical Feminism' or his and John Piper's joint book '50 Crucial Questions About Manhood and Womanhood.) And maybe it's just because it was all information I had read before.

In spite of that, I found the man chapters still helpful in understanding my husband better, recognizing more deeply his burden as head of our household, and providing insightful guidelines in raising sons or helping daughters see godly men.

This conversation is so important in today's culture where the norm is 'following your heart' and 'doing whatever feels good' instead of holding up our behavior and thoughts to Scripture and following Christ's example. It's really hard to be on the side that sounds limiting, but as this title suggests, abiding in Christ and seeking fulfillment, identity, and purpose in him is the ultimate and only source of joy in this broken world.

This book may not address every aspect of each issue but it aims to tackle the heart issues- where sin steps in to distort that which God created to be good. And we need to get that part right first, or we don't have a foundation for anything else.

From its pages:

“[God] did not make us all the same. He loves diversity. He revels in it. He created a world that pulses with differences, that explodes with color, that includes roaring waterfalls and self-inflating lizards and rapt, at-attention meerkats. But humankind, man and woman, is the pinnacle of his creation.”

"The God of Scripture is not our life coach. He is our Lord. We’re used to this word as Christians, and so it loses its edge. This divine title signifies that God is our master. He is our sovereign. He is our ruler. He sets the tone for right and wrong. He calls us to account for our sin. His gospel brings both bad news and good news. It informs us that we are sinful and destined for eternal judgment. It calls us to be re-created. Our chief need is not affirmation but Christ-powered transformation… Men are called to be men. Women are called to be women. We are not free to choose our sexual predilections. We do not have the authority to remake our gender."

"The roles are not regulated by competency… Yes, women lead and provide and protect in many ways every day, just like men affirm and nurture and trust… the husband steps out first in leading, and the wife affirms his initiative in doing so… The husband takes up the mantle of provision, of figuring out how to holistically care for his family along with her help, and the wife nurtures that instinct and strategy… The husband always leans forward in the face of sacrifice, in the name of love, and the wife, in the safety of that love, trusts him."