Last week i talked about roles and how males and females have different roles but they complement each other perfectly. this week i want to focus some more on that, but also male headship, and possibly get into feminism a bit.

So male headship exists in marriage...why? because thats how God has arranged it. ( 1 Corinthians 11:3). A good way to look at this is: God the Father has authority over the Son, even both are equal in deity. Its similar in marriage the husband has authority over the wife, even though both are equal in personhood. And just in case anyone has the idea that roles and male authority came after the fall, they are wrong. Yes Genesis 3:16 (post-fall) says "Yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you", but there are a few things to point out. Adam was created first and then eve, eve was created as a helper for adam not the other way around, adam named eve, God named the human race "man" not "woman", the serpent came to eve first, God spoke to Adam first after the fall, and adam represented the human race. The curse wasn't the invention of roles, but it did bring about a distortion of them that to this day is being fought. All of these prove, in different ways, that headship belonged to the man. Personally im gratefull, how nice to have that burden lifted off my shoulders, i think i can lead in some ways, but this is one where i will gladly pass it along to jonathan and support him as he leads our family.

So why is it important for men to lead? and women, why don't we let them? We should let men lead because its their role that God has created them for. Ladies, we are great at getting things done and being supportive and empathetic and helping and nurturing and making decisions and hopefully your husband or future husband lets you in on decisions and seeks your wisdom and advice, but ultimately we do not have the final say and we need to be ok with that. The truth is that most women aren't, heck even i think i could do a better job sometimes, and the fact that im admitting that and your thinking that proves we are totally depraved human beings and we need christ. Before the fall adam ruled over eve harmoniously, after the fall we are born to want to usurp the mans leadership position. "He shall rule over us", but now we get pouty and moody and headaches and puffed up with the notion that we could do it better. when we can't because we aren't made to.

So ladies use the brain that God gave you and wait (don't find because you are to be pursued) for a good Godly man that you would want to lead you and have little to no problems submitting to. And everyone else sorry we didn't get around to feminism, we'll save it for next week.

Grace and Peace
sarah B.

Rolls? wait roles.

I ended last week with Genesis 1:27 " So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" and so questions. The first question that i believe is essential to this whole topic of biblical womanhood and feminism goes back to...(gasp) roles. So why are roles so important, what are roles anyways? Is it simply chores that a man and woman can do best like mowing the grass or doing dishes, or does it go a little further? So 1, 2, 3, go

It doesn't take much to realize that God created two genders...male and female, thus two different roles. With the creation of roles God is able to show his image in three ways 1) the beauty and importance of interpersonal relationships 2) equality in both person hood and importance 3) difference in role and authority. This week Ill discuss the first way God is able to show his image with the importance of interpersonal relationships as it relates to roles.

God didn't create us to be alone. As humans we are best when we are around other humans that we can connect with and grow with. There is something special about interpersonal relationships and we see them everywhere... in families, friends, but this relationship is best expressed in marriage. In marriage you have two coming together as one, it is a unity of body, mind, and soul. It is cool to see how God uses marriage in all its beauty and mystery to show unity between a man and a woman. There is another relationship that somewhat mirrors this unity...the Trinity. Father, Son, and Spirit. This "Trinity" was shown to us in Genesis 1:26 when God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Within the trinity there is love, communication, fellowship, a sharing of glory, and mutual giving of honor. These things, hopefully, also show up in marriage.

Now i have a good group of Godly women friends that i am so extremely thankful for. I can relate to these women, express myself in a way that they understand (which basically means i can ramble and think out loud and they know that im not looking for an answer or trying to make a point), they are tender, and can relate to hardships that i go through. I love my girl friends, but i didn't leave my parents to form a new family with them, nor can i be united body soul and mind to them...but i can to my sweet husband. With Jonathan there is this unique relationship where he is my protector and i am his helper, he has the ultimate decision making power, but he wants to know my thoughts and wisdom. We each bring something different to the table that wouldn't be much fun at all if it was two me's or two Jonathan's. With the creation of male and female, you get these two completely different puzzle pieces that fit together beautifully and work best together, just like the trinity.

To sum up roles are important because they show us that we need each other and are interdependent on each other (its best seen in marriage), just like the Father, Son, and Spirit need each other and are interdependent on each other.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a long topic, but its a good one.
Grace and peace.
sarah b.

WOMAN, woman, weeman,w

a few weeks ago i saw the cover of Time magazine..."The State of the American Woman" , i passed it off, but it has come back to me through a brother in law and i think its a good time to talk about womanhood, feminism, and most importantly biblical womanhood. now im no bible scholar or theologian, but i do like (well love) the word of God. im definitely not going to tackle this ginormous topic tonight, but i do hope in the coming weeks to shed some light on this subject.

To start off, the article in Time magazine was specifically about how women are more powerful, yet still unhappy. there was some talk about the feminist movement and how quickly it has progressed.

So what does the bible say about feminism? What is biblical womanhood? Why does it matter? What importance do gender roles have if any at all?

These will be coming up in the following weeks, i am hoping to get some dialogue going, so feel free to comment. In the meantime here is a verse to chew on that will hopefully kick off this topic.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27