In a twisted culture that worships, even fetishizes, the victim hood of women and their suffering while actively participating in our erasure, I refuse to be defined outside of the perfect architecture of God's supreme design.
Women were created for a special purpose and have been held in incredible significance throughout the Bible.
When I read and studied the Bible in completion from January 1st to October 28th, 2023, I realized for the first time that it was the most woman-empowering text I've ever read in my life and it opened my eyes about many deceptive preconceptions we're force fed about our identity and the faith, usually because people have assigned subjective morality to specific principles that (by design) immediately contradict God's supreme authority.
Many times these lies are propagated by religious people, sadly!
First and foremost, there is no denying that women are God's gift to man! What could possibly be more empowering? This is established from the 1st book, Genesis 2:18.
Also in the first book we are shown that the first recording of a person visited by an angel was a single mother who was shown compassion in her despair. (gen 16:7) This is a characteristic of God that is especially pronounced throughout the ministry of Christ in the New Testament.
In fact, the most definitive examples of Christ's gentleness and compassion besides his ultimate sacrifice were depicted in his interactions with women. To reference only a few:
• The woman at the well (John 4) - Jesus rebelled against the prejudicial stigma of the time of Jews consorting with Samaritans, especially women - and one who had several husbands and living with an unmarried man at that.
• The woman who touched his garment and was healed (Mark 5:27) - Imagine the fear of this woman in the shame and desperation of her affliction, after gaining the courage to touch his garment in the crowd, to be publicly identified and questioned, then instantly healed and called "daughter."
• The adulterous woman (John 8:3) - Jesus shames and reveals the hypocrisy of her accusers then dismisses her without condemnation while convicting her to repent.
• The woman who anointed Jesus with expensive oil (Matt 26:6)- Jesus defended her and rebuked the men for shaming her.
While those aren't examples of the many empowering female figures in their moments of courage, it's a depiction of God's love for women.
Knowing that women suffer imminent shame in barreness, the Bible is full of affirmations for barren women, as well as widows, single mothers, the unmarried, even adulterers and prostitutes like Rahab who was revered for her faith.(josh 2, heb 11:31) It is incredible God ensured their stories stood the test of time through ages of extreme stigma.
I noticed in most documented cases of Jesus' healing work, men would come forward asking for healing, but in the case of the crippled woman Jesus noticed her and stopped his teaching to heal her. (Luke 13:10) I love how Gilbert Bilezikian puts it:
"Jesus reaches out to "unnoticeable" women, inconspicuous silent sufferers who blend into the background and are seen by others as "negligible entities destined to exist on the fringes of life". Jesus notices them, recognizes their need and, "in one gloriously wrenching moment, He thrusts them on center stage in the drama of redemption with the spotlights of eternity beaming down upon them, and He immortalizes them in sacred history".
The Bible instills the eminence of wisdom throughout and we're taught fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It's most prominent in Proverbs where wisdom is personified as a woman!
In Proverbs 31 we are given a complete outlined vignette of what the ideal noble or virtuous woman should exemplify in character. Is she a feeble, uninspiring, damsel in distress like the feminists claim Biblical women are portrayed? No she's strong, physically and mentally, resilient, resourceful, industrious, charitable, honest, and wise. She's considered rare and valuable, more than any other woman. "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all" - Proverbs 31: 29. Women had a HUGE role in the story of Jesus, from his immaculate birth, through his ministry, his death, and resurrection!!
The devotion of the women closest to Jesus was made very clear and it's significant that they were the first to witness his resurrection and appointed by the angels to spread the news.
It's also a reason people mistakenly think they should worship the mother Mary, because women were so specially regarded in the book. In progressive and egalitarian churches these scriptures are used to push feminists agendas which are contrary to God's perfect order. God created a hierarchy whereby man is the glory of God and woman is the glory of man, yet both are mutually important and dependent on eachother.
"Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God." 1-corinthians-11-11
This is only problematic or offensive if one is a narcissist consumed by pride and vanity, because as the reasonably adept can see, feminist ideology has caused nothing but suffering, misery, competition, and confusion by creating a system of slavery under the guise of independence. And no marvel, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
It's no lie that every feminist I see boasting about their independence one day, are complaining the next day about being alone and having to work in conditions that seem....idk, unnatural? Meanwhile stripping down online for validation from strangers while trying to convince everyone they're happier single.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks"
Woman was created as a gift for man, that's why we were made beautiful, so that we may be pursued and adored. We were created to be man's helper, to humble ourselves and show grace and gentleness, propriety, and self-control.
In turn, because God loves and cherishes women, he instructed men on how they are to treat their wives with the utmost honor and respect:
Ephesians 5:25-28 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
This has become completely perverted and inverted more notably since the sexual revolution in the 60s and I don't think people realize what a psyop and ultimate disservice it has done for everyone, myself particularly.
In short, I am so thankful God created me as a woman with unique qualities and purpose. Every great and wonderful thing that brings me joy from cooking, sewing, growing, even working from home with other remarkable women, is all a gift to his glory. More importantly I'm grateful God brought me out of my own narcissism, brought me low, and opened my eyes to objective truth.
Humility is beautiful. Modesty is beautiful. Dignity is beautiful. Integrity is beautiful. Submission is beautiful. Forgiveness is beautiful.
New Living Translation You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
English Standard Version but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
This will be crazy talk to those who are programmed by the world and their own flesh, but I share this in the Spirit and hope it is a blessing to someone. I'm not a religious person in the worldly sense, just a woman who has been transformed and renewed by God's grace, exposed of all my transgressions and made into a new creation. It's beautiful and I want other women to know how good it is.
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And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (Cor 4)
Happy International Women's day to every human possessing XX chromosomes! Wishing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to all women today, including the unborn!
