Encouragement

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DAY/EVENING REFLECTIONS

John 4
25The woman said, "I know the Messiah will come--the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
26Then Jesus told her, "I am the Messiah!"- NIV

38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."--NIV

I consider Jesus Christ to be the first true feminist. He spared the life of an adulteress and even told her that he did not judge her. When Martha was cleaning and cooking and complained that her sister Mary was not helping her, Christ did not say “Mary, it is your place to cook, go help!” but rather, he admonished the complainer, and said that this woman was right where she needed to be. In other words, he was the first to regard women as equal to men in regards to salvation, the first to free them from the bonds of oppression and harsh judgments.

I am aware that Christianity is regarded as a sexist religion, and I understand why some have this mistaken belief. Many churches twisted bible passages to subjugate women, in the same manner in which they were twisted to justify slavery. Educated individuals now know the truth of the matter.

I also know certain injustices still occur in regards to woman’s rights, and I will stand behind a woman in a justified battle. I do however, fear my sisters are letting the pendulum swing a bit too far in the other direction, to the point of thinking that the only good man is an emasculated one, i.e. one that thinks and acts like a woman. Sorry-I like my man to act like a man, thanks. As a woman, it has often irked me that some women feel that being truly liberated means having no regard for the feelings of others, and zero accountability or tolerance. I believe in the right of the individual, but society can’t function if people do not understand how to factor themselves into the give and take equation.

Now in the bible there were many great women-some were even Judges, merchants, council women and great religious leaders. If Christianity was anti-woman, this wouldn’t be the case.

The actual ten commandments mention nothing about the supposed superiority of men or the inferiority of women and neither did Christ. Moses handed down “laws’ and some of these laws had the influences of Jewish culture within them. We knew this because when asked about divorce, “, 8Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning “ in essence he was saying that God allowed such a thing to spare women from further hardship-He knew the alternative to divorce would be death.

Also, consider this. Jesus revealed Himself to a woman he had barely known and who was, but the standards of the day, a sinner having been divorced four times and living with a man who was not her husband. He spoke kindly to her, and told her what was perhaps one of the most important facts of human history: that He was The Messiah. He was flying in the face of conventions and in essence, he was saying, okay man, you’ve had your turn, but the Kingdom of God is at hand, and this being the case, you can no longer have such absurd rules, regulations or separations.

In other words it was time to give woman her due and to free her.

Yes, the bible asks women to submit to their husbands, but it also tells men to treat their women as they would their own bodies. In other words, this is mutual submission.

There is no such thing as “independence” in a relationship. Yes, you are two different individuals with different interests, but what I am talking about is a healthy co-dependence. If one has absolutely no need for another person, then why get involved in the first place-just for sex? Well, that gets old real fast.

Women are revered and loved by true Christian mates, notice I said “true”. The men you have seen abusing the bible to control a woman were not representations of Christian men. The bible says that the man who hates his wife, hates himself.

Even Paul says in Galatians:

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. “-Galatians 3: 28

This is a clear indication that there if no favoritism in regards to gender. It is good to know that in Christ, all are loved no matter their race or gender!-ARN under the instruction o f THS.

EVENING REFLECTIONS

In my hands I hold a candle
whose flame is small to see
And if I give but one light to you
my life is filled for me.
But...
In your hands you hold a torch
for many eyes to see
So hold it high that they may light
their candlewicks from thee.

© Faye

A raindrop, dripping from a cloud,
Was ashamed when it saw the sea.
'Who am I where there is a sea?' it said.
When it saw itself with the eye of humility,
A shell nurtured it in its embrace.

Saadi of Shiraz, Persian Poet

FUNNY BONE YARD:

A young lady came home and told her Mother that her boyfriend had proposed but she had turned him down because she found out he was an atheist, and didn't believe in Heaven or Hell.

"Marry him anyway dear." the Mother said. "Between the two of us, we'll show him just how wrong he is."

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