I recently began classes through Fuller Seminary on-line. I’ll be sharing some take-aways here.  Let’s start with two special ladies, Esther and Ruth.

Esther’s a hard book to deal with.  It’s notorious for getting into scripture without ever mentioning God.  The incessant winks and nudges to divine providence throw monkey wrenches at Arminians.  The high value of the power of an individual humans actions that could be hard for Calvinists to swallow.  It tells of how avoiding one genocide led to another war.  It mocks politicians.  It simultaneously provides fuel for radical feminists and subjectifies women.

Esther is my kind of woman.  She’s the prettiest girl in all the land.  She knows how to throw parties.  Most importantly, she makes tough decisions, even if they’ll cause her harm.

I’m a part of a generation incapable of decision making or commitment.  We’re transients.  We float from one city to another, one group of friends to another, one job to another, one shack-up to another.  We keep going back to grad school.  We’re so full from concerts, foodie restaurants, gadgets, and Facebook that we never dive deep.

Those of us still single in our late 20s and 30s, are in a tough spot.  We’re lonely and getting older, but our lives have become so full for a new relationship or to try to make a real difference in the world.

Esther has a pretty great life.  She got to go to a spa for a year.  She was surrounded by eunuchs, nice guy friends who could never put a move on her.  But when the opportunity came to make a difference in the world, she risked her life and she made a firm decision.  Her words “if I perish, I perish” are haunting to a generation who wants to make a difference, but won’t commit.

That’s why Esther’s my kind of woman.