If God’s first man was strong enough to manage the world alone, why would the Lord need to make a woman to help him?
Although men play a dominant role in the Scriptures, the women of the Bible represent a wide variety of characters that exemplify how God honors women and selects them in pivotal moments to bring his righteousness to the earth. For example, read the stories of Rebekah, Rahab, Deborah, Esther, Ruth, Elizabeth, and Mary, the mother of Jesus. In the New Testament, Jesus instructed women as his disciples, like Mary Magdelene, Martha, and her sister, Mary, who are most known. Many women like Joanna, Susanna, and Salome were actively involved in the ministry, provided financial support for Jesus and the twelve, and ministered to him. The early church depended on the work and faith of women to grow into a global movement, like Lydia, Damaris, Phoebe, Priscilla, and Junia.
The rich tapestry of women in history shows God has used women since the beginning of the world to display His glory and advance His Kingdom. They have faced the mouths of lions under persecution, ministered to the forgotten and the outcasts, poured their energies into equipping the next generation, courageously faced the unknown as missionaries, penned works full of faithful doctrine, and so much more. Two examples from women’s history exemplify faithful courage in the face of death.
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) was a female black lay minister for the Methodist church. She was freed from slavery after escaping in 1826, was one of the first black women to successfully sue a white man and converted to Methodism in 1843. She delivered many speeches and sermons, the most famous of which was her 1851 address, “Ain’t I a Woman?” She saved a Northampton camp meeting in 1844 when a small mob entered the encampment during a sermon of a different female preacher. Sojourner began to sing on a nearby hill and calmed the worshipers and the mob. She delivered an address in Boston on the eighth anniversary of the Emancipation proclamation. She admitted that although she once hated white people for what they had done to her and hated her masters, once Sojourner found her final master, Jesus, she was filled with love toward all people.
“Then that little man there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, ’cause Christ wasn’t a woman! Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.” —Sojourner Truth, Ain’t I a Woman, speech delivered at the 1851 Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio.
Elisabeth Elliot (1926-2015) was married to missionary/martyr Jim Elliot, who was killed while attempting to make missionary contact with the Quichua Indians in Ecuador. After her husband’s death, she and her 10-month-old daughter spent two years as a missionary to the same tribe that killed her husband. Elisabeth then returned to the United States after many years in South America. She traveled the country, sharing all God had done in her missionary experiences. She also authored numerous books to inspire women in holy living and Biblical womanhood.
“I have one desire now – to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it.” – Elisabeth Elliot
God made women integral to his plan to build this world for his glory. People worldwide celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. These days and months allow us to remember and celebrate the contributions of women in history and contemporary society, as well as advocate for the honor women deserve.
Why should Christians celebrate Women’s History?
Women’s history is a time to reflect on women’s societal contributions. As followers of Christ looking through the lens of the Gospel, it is vital to see the impact of those who have gone before. We do not think often enough about the impact women have made on the church, our lives, or the culture. But all of us, consciously or subconsciously, have been directly influenced by mothers, grandmothers, and other women. We experience freedom because of women we will never know. Women have influenced our faith in the Bible and throughout church history. The Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus. Women’s history, then, is a shared history leading to Christ. We must learn about our past to see how it affects the present and how it will continue to affect our future.
Women’s history is shared history
Women are made in the image of God (the imago dei).
Being made in God’s image means we are free from the shackles of what any given culture says women are. For thousands of years, societies have created their own ideas of women’s identity; however, rather than embracing the world’s identities, they are in the individual identities He has chosen.
“Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26).
Christian women throughout history exemplify diversity.
Christian women throughout history do not fit a single model, as described previously; they are different people from various places who uniquely influenced others around them as God’s fellow workers building His kingdom.
“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:7-9).
Women’s history brings awareness that leads to a more profound unity within the body of Christ.
Unity in the body of Christ means Christians look beyond differences and live in harmony with one another. How might we do that?
We unite in humility better than ever before. We listen more and talk less. We build bridges to connect with those who are not like us. We learn more about those around us.
Closing Thoughts…
People are made in the image of God for unity. Women’s history creates the time and space for us to reflect and assess how important women have been in the church’s history. We can look at the current roles and see how women will continue to be empowered to further God’s kingdom.
We are thankful for Jesus, who offers salvation freely to anyone who asks Him to be his or her Lord and Savior. Jesus the God-Man has done more to raise women’s dignity and worth than anyone who has ever walked the earth. Taking time to reflect on faithful women of the past ultimately points us to Christ, whom they sought to honor with their lives.
‘There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).