Women's Day 2023
| So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis1:27) |
And, from the outset, the brokenness of this world has led to the neglect, abuse and objectification of women.
The Bible is often accused of promoting patriarchy, but when one reads carefully, there are a key threads and developing themes that show how Judaism and Christianity were pointing the way to lead to a better and more wholesome appreciation of women.
Right in our text from chapter one of Genesis we get the bottom line:
Men and Women are created by God and each reflect His nature.
Although Genesis 2 talks about the how (Adam is made from clay and breathed into and Eve is made from a rib from Adam,) Genesis 1 talks about the nature and value of men and women as equal parts of humanity and twice repeats how both are in the image of God. (Ironically those who emphasise that Eve was made from Adam's rib, conveniently forget that all human beings are formed and put together inside women!)
Today, on Women's day we celebrate our women:
- They are courageous like Esther, Ruth, Mary, Deborah and numerous others
- They are faithful like Ruth, Hannah, the women at the cross and Jesus burial and grave
- They are church builders like Lydia, Priscilla, Dorcas, Damaris. Paul greets nine women in Romans 11 - this in a culture where women were almost never named.
- They are delighted in and loved by their husbands: Sarah, Rachel, Ruth, Hannah, Mary.
- They are celebrated for their hard work and diligence (Prov.31)
- In the intimate poetry of Song of Songs, Beloved Woman is given an equal voice and equal delight in the gift of love. This remarkable book gives a voice to women instead of objectifying them.
- If we believe that God is Sovereign Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient and that He created out of nothing, then, in a sense, He made space within Himself to form the universe, and in that sense, mothers through child-bearing, reflect the sacrifice and love of God.
- They are nurturers who form and shape children as mothers and teachers. The book of Kings unusually, given the culture of the day, often mentions who the mothers of the kings are, whether the kings are evil or good, reminding us also that women have great responsibility.
- And I could go on...
It's sad that we need to have a special day to honour and celebrate women. In our broken world, gender-based violence, abuse, the objectification and suppression of women is still a woeful reality. It is my hope that we will come to a place where every day, we celebrate our moms, wives, daughters, sisters and every single women in our lives as co-created and wonderfully reflective of the nature of God.
Happy Women's Day to all the wonderful, amazing and incredible women in our lives!
