Last
week was the launch of a beautiful book written by a gutsy, brave,
intelligent woman whom God has gifted with more than just a poetic
style. She has a heart that follows hard after her Saviour and a life
that is devoted to speaking love and life into the church, Christ's
bride. She speaks into the need to bring healing to every place in
the world that needs the hands and feet of Jesus. With a captivating
title and a bright yellow cover, the inside holds the heart of a
Saviour whose story has no gender.
Growing
up watching my mom teach Sunday School, organize church dinners,
oversee Vacation Bible School and serve on pulpit committees, I was
still aware that this was all part of complimenting my dad in his
roles as deacon or Sunday School superintendent. At the same time she
raised four boys and a girl, kept up with the house and in our teen
years was a leader for Bible Study Fellowship. As a woman she “had
her place'.
To be
clear, this was comfortable for my mom. She was able to serve in her
full capacity in these positions, love my dad deeply and have an
intimate relationship with her Saviour. She had no desire to preach
or work outside the home. She was literally and figuratively a 50s
housewife.
She
was content there.
Even
as a young girl I began to believe that my goal in life was to find a
man to fall in love with. One who I would compliment, we would fit
together like two pieces of a puzzle and ride off into the sunset
together. As a teen, having a boyfriend was the validation I searched
for over and over. When you believe that something or someone will
make your life have meaning it becomes so very hard to do anything
else. When everything weighs on who you are to someone else, that is
where you focus. That is the path you pursue.
During
my first year at a Baptist college there was an understanding that
men were there for a bachelor's (there is a certain irony in
that) and the women were pursuing their "MRS" degree.
I wanted to
serve in the church so my plan was to study Christian Education. That
was squelched when I was told they didn't allow women into that
major. However, I could major in Religion with a minor in Education.
After all, women could become teachers (which includes teaching young
men, just not older men). I still wasn't given hope to have a future
as a Christian Education director because they don't hire women to do
that. (A year later they changed the rules. A friend of mine
graduated with a Christian Ed degree.)
In the
years that followed, instead of pursuing career goals, I pursued the
one thing in life that I had been taught would make me whole. Even if
it meant a relationship with an abusive person, it was better to be
in a bad relationship than none. After all, that was what I was
created for, right?
Eventually
I found my way back to a purer faith. Through many trials I learned
that the only relationship I was truly called to was the one I was
created for and that was with my Creator. Everything else would
become extra. A husband and children would be blessings, not goals to
achieve.
My
daily desire should be to find my wholeness in Him, not in another
human. Our relationships with each other should be to speak His life
to each person, remembering that He created them as well. When we get
caught up in the details of marital status or gender we short change
the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who need us.
This
morning I woke up thinking of several women who I know live their
lives in pursuit of Jesus. Some are divorced, a few never married,
some widowed and others married. Their value isn't in their status.
One is not less because of where she has been. They are all deeply
loved because God created them for a relationship with Him yet the
attitudes of so many in the church would diminish those women. Jesus
doesn't diminish, He heals the hearts of His people even as they
fight for a place to serve. Even as they are dismissed because of
their gender. If we follow Jesus' example we will find ourselves
sharing water at the well instead of whispering behind someone's
back. We will allow women to be like Mary who sat at the feet of her
Rabbi in a culture where women stayed in the kitchen. Women “with
an issue” won't have to be embarrassed to seek His healing but will
be ushered into His presence with hope.
To me
it is no accident that we now serve at a church that espouses these
same beliefs. Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love
God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. He tells us that
the second is like it and that is to love our neighbor as ourselves.
He doesn't detract from it by differentiating or dividing us up in
class or status. In fact when He elaborates on what a neighbor is, He
uses a parable that tells how religious folks passed by a wounded man
and it was one who was considered an enemy who stopped to help.
As
church leaders we are called to equip the saints. That would be all
saints, not just married saints, parental saints, old saints or male
saints. All means all. In that, no one is more worthy to serve than
any other. There are souls waiting to be touched, to be fed, to be
clothed, to have their thirst quenched or to be healed.
I
see a movement coming and stirring side by side with those who seek
the heart of Jesus to release us to love deeper. The walls are
crumbling that were built out of fear and ignorance. They did not
keep us safe. Instead, they held us back from discovering our God
given purpose.
When
they come down, my hope is that we will be able to see Christ,
standing here in our midst. Let us draw near to Him as we love one
another. As we make a way for our brothers and sisters to reach into
this world without impediment. In humility, let us see one another as
more important than ourselves.
Philippians
2:1 “Therefore if there
is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any
fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my
joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord,
of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or
conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than
himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests,
but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus”.
In
August I reviewed the book, “Jesus
Feminist: An
Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women”.
It was released last week and I couldn't be happier for Sarah Bessey
but even more I am anxious for every one to take the time to read her
words. To know better how the Bible speaks of God's love for me has
released my heart from the walls created decades ago. I am beginning
to understand that my giftings aren't left in the kitchen sink to
soak off last night's dinner but are woven through the dailies as
well as the extraordinary moments. Christa Pitcairn, a local pastor
preached the sermon, “Singled Out in A Couple's World”. (I
wrote about it here.) In it she asked, “When you know you are
called to a platform ministry but no one has provided that place, are
you willing to preach from the street corner?”
This
is me, stepping onto my street corner, bring released and drenched in
the Saviour's love. As I lean in and love my Creator and I learn to
love others without man made boundaries, I am finding a joy
unspeakable. As I experience what it means to live in His grace, as I
allow it to pour through me to others, I am finding my freedom.
To
be sure, Mom wanted me to be a loving wife and mother. Even deeper
than that her desire was for me to find peace in the arms of our
Saviour. Shouldn't that be our hope for all of His creation?
Always,
Hope
PS: This wasn't meant as another review or an advertisement for "Jesus Feminist" but what is written there was a catalyst and balm for this part of my journey.
You can purchase it here
