What makes a great woman great? Someone who loves basketball might say, “A great woman is one who can run with the ball and not double dribble! A fisherman might answer, “A great woman is one who has her own tackle box.” A child might unashamedly profess, “A great woman is somebody like my Mom.”
Who’s right? What really makes a woman great? In the Bible, great women of God played leading roles in God’s drama of redemption. The story of one such woman is found in 2 Kings 4. “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman (v. 8a).”
Several characteristics manifest this woman’s greatness. First notice, this Shunammite woman was hospitable. Verse 8 says, “…she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.” In our day of hurry, we need to be reminded of the importance of simple hospitality. My grandmother was to hospitality what Arnold Palmer is to golf. The visiting preacher, the milk man, the vacuum cleaner salesman, and anyone else who came to her house would leave pleasantly full, smiling, and assured of a new found friendship. They had also heard of the love of Christ and His power to save.
Secondly, we see that the Shunammite woman had a keen spiritual perception. Verse 9 says, “And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.” O that women of this century would take time to know God and His ways.
Later, this woman lost her only son to an unexpected illness, but she refused to relinquish her faith in the God of Elijah. Verses 18-37 tell how her faith resulted in her son being raised from the dead!
Think of it ladies, because of her sincere hospitality, spiritual perception, and faith in God, this woman’s story is indelibly published in Holy Writ. Perhaps you would aspire to be the next great woman of God.