There is room for you
I am so grateful for my mother who allowed me to be myself even when it meant climbing trees, or playing football(America) and futbol. I was not a girly little girl, or teenager. I was sporty, outspoken, and rebellious against the idea that all girls should be subdued and domestic. There is nothing wrong with being subdued and domestic, it's just that I didn't feel that is was right or necessary for those attributes to be thrust onto me by people who didn't care who I really was. I used to hate being a girl because in my mind it meant skirts and stocking, sewing and makeup. Fortunately my mother decided that she would give me the foundations of what I had to know to survive as a girl, and then let me be who I am, as long as it was respectful, decent, and didn't dishonor God or put me at too much risk.
My childhood and continuing into my adulthood I have grown to believe that God created genders to complement each other and to create a more vivid picture of who God is and how God loves. To me this is the end of the purpose of genders. God created men and women to love each other, help each other, and grow the world together. If God only cared about creating genders than he would not have allowed for differences in personality. There are many variations for men and women in the Bible, and I don't think God did this by accident. There were zealots and cautious people, Optimists and pessimists, there were joyful people and depressed people, there were craftsmen and scholars. There was every kind of person you see today, depicted in scripture, and then there is this:
7 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:27-29
If you are an individual struggling with your gender, understand that there is more to you then that. God did not make a mistake with you, and he created you to be dynamic. You are first and foremost a creation of God, and God loves you. I struggled for a long time not because I didn't want to be me, but because of all of the "rules" that came with being a female in this world. God has rules too, but his first rule is that everyone can have a seat at his table.
When I look in scripture, many of God's "rules" concerning gender are based on his original plan for mankind and his desire for us to not cause each other to fall into sin in our walk with him. God speaks directly concerning our weaknesses and our strengths mentally, emotionally, relationally, spiritually, and physically when in Titus 2 it talks about the roles of mentoring for men and women. For example, why are wives supposed to be subject to their OWN husbands (this phrase shows up 6 times in the new testament)? I believe the word "own" is critical here. From my study, I think that Eve,the first woman, got into trouble with God because she listened to someone else (the devil) rather than her OWN husband who told her that God said don't eat the forbidden fruit. Because of this one misstep sin and death entered into the world! Sticking to her spouse would have prevented Eve from getting tangled up and doing harm to her marriage and family. We can't work effectively with our husbands if we are listening to everyone but them (and just for the record scripture says that husbands and wives are suppose to both submit to each other). This is just one example of Godly gender roles. His plan was meant to help us, not to harm us or hold us down.
God does care about our gender identification, but he cares because we need it to complete our God given purpose of showing his character and heart to the world. Marriage is meant to be the image of Christ and his church, and family is what God wants with us. For that, you need for everyone to know what their role is.
In the beginning man's role was to care for God's earth and his creations, and to make more of himself. Woman's role was to help the man with all of that. That's pretty vague, but these are the original gender roles. The openness of this first purpose statement for mankind leaves a lot to interpretation, and I love that. This means that me working could fall under my purpose as a wife because I am helping my husband. This means that a dad can stay at home and care for his children because he is still managing his home. This means that a woman can do yard work and a man can do the laundry. The point here is that each one does what they are best at in order to achieve the goal of fruitfulness in their lives. This isn't meant as a slap in the face to the gender roles set in biblical times after the fall of man (when Adam and Eve disobeyed God). In Biblical times, women were taught to provide food, clothing, and child rearing, while men were taught to provide a home, protection, and income. This model actually works great as long as both parties are satisfied to operate this way. However, if this model doesn't work for your family, do what works. God won't be angry at a woman for making more money than her husband, and God won't be mad at a man for wearing an apron. That would make God petty, and God isn't petty.
For all of you that are unmarried you can still achieve the original gender roles (minus the having babies). In the beginning there was no specification as to what we had to be wearing or what jobs we should pick. Today, there are female athletes promoting Christ to their teammates and those they meet along the way. There are women sharing their wisdom to create innovations worldwide. There are women providing medical care to those in need of it. There are women spreading the news of what is happening around the world. Married or not, women are helping mankind to care for the earth and everything in it...or doing harm. Married or not, men are managing this world either to the glory of God or themselves. I believe that God did not change his mind about the purpose of men and women, but rather gave guidelines to help us to resist sin and corruption of our purpose. Not every man has to have huge muscles and be 7 feet tall, but every man should take care of what God gave him and use wisdom in his words and conduct. Every woman doesn't have to sport perfect hair, nails, and skin, or the latest trends, but every women should be making sure that she isn't causing an unholy rucus with her fashion or rhetoric and rather helping to improve her environment.
What I am saying is that every woman has her own style of doing the purpose that God gave her, and every man has his own swagger as to how he does the will of God for his life. If gender has you hung up, then instead focus on enjoying all of who you are and not just your gender. Gender was never meant to do harm to us, but to help us find and fulfill our purpose. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone and so he created woman and saw that is was very good. Whether you are male or female, God loves you and he made you on purpose. Embrace the wonder that is you.
My childhood and continuing into my adulthood I have grown to believe that God created genders to complement each other and to create a more vivid picture of who God is and how God loves. To me this is the end of the purpose of genders. God created men and women to love each other, help each other, and grow the world together. If God only cared about creating genders than he would not have allowed for differences in personality. There are many variations for men and women in the Bible, and I don't think God did this by accident. There were zealots and cautious people, Optimists and pessimists, there were joyful people and depressed people, there were craftsmen and scholars. There was every kind of person you see today, depicted in scripture, and then there is this:
7 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:27-29
If you are an individual struggling with your gender, understand that there is more to you then that. God did not make a mistake with you, and he created you to be dynamic. You are first and foremost a creation of God, and God loves you. I struggled for a long time not because I didn't want to be me, but because of all of the "rules" that came with being a female in this world. God has rules too, but his first rule is that everyone can have a seat at his table.
When I look in scripture, many of God's "rules" concerning gender are based on his original plan for mankind and his desire for us to not cause each other to fall into sin in our walk with him. God speaks directly concerning our weaknesses and our strengths mentally, emotionally, relationally, spiritually, and physically when in Titus 2 it talks about the roles of mentoring for men and women. For example, why are wives supposed to be subject to their OWN husbands (this phrase shows up 6 times in the new testament)? I believe the word "own" is critical here. From my study, I think that Eve,the first woman, got into trouble with God because she listened to someone else (the devil) rather than her OWN husband who told her that God said don't eat the forbidden fruit. Because of this one misstep sin and death entered into the world! Sticking to her spouse would have prevented Eve from getting tangled up and doing harm to her marriage and family. We can't work effectively with our husbands if we are listening to everyone but them (and just for the record scripture says that husbands and wives are suppose to both submit to each other). This is just one example of Godly gender roles. His plan was meant to help us, not to harm us or hold us down.
God does care about our gender identification, but he cares because we need it to complete our God given purpose of showing his character and heart to the world. Marriage is meant to be the image of Christ and his church, and family is what God wants with us. For that, you need for everyone to know what their role is.
In the beginning man's role was to care for God's earth and his creations, and to make more of himself. Woman's role was to help the man with all of that. That's pretty vague, but these are the original gender roles. The openness of this first purpose statement for mankind leaves a lot to interpretation, and I love that. This means that me working could fall under my purpose as a wife because I am helping my husband. This means that a dad can stay at home and care for his children because he is still managing his home. This means that a woman can do yard work and a man can do the laundry. The point here is that each one does what they are best at in order to achieve the goal of fruitfulness in their lives. This isn't meant as a slap in the face to the gender roles set in biblical times after the fall of man (when Adam and Eve disobeyed God). In Biblical times, women were taught to provide food, clothing, and child rearing, while men were taught to provide a home, protection, and income. This model actually works great as long as both parties are satisfied to operate this way. However, if this model doesn't work for your family, do what works. God won't be angry at a woman for making more money than her husband, and God won't be mad at a man for wearing an apron. That would make God petty, and God isn't petty.
For all of you that are unmarried you can still achieve the original gender roles (minus the having babies). In the beginning there was no specification as to what we had to be wearing or what jobs we should pick. Today, there are female athletes promoting Christ to their teammates and those they meet along the way. There are women sharing their wisdom to create innovations worldwide. There are women providing medical care to those in need of it. There are women spreading the news of what is happening around the world. Married or not, women are helping mankind to care for the earth and everything in it...or doing harm. Married or not, men are managing this world either to the glory of God or themselves. I believe that God did not change his mind about the purpose of men and women, but rather gave guidelines to help us to resist sin and corruption of our purpose. Not every man has to have huge muscles and be 7 feet tall, but every man should take care of what God gave him and use wisdom in his words and conduct. Every woman doesn't have to sport perfect hair, nails, and skin, or the latest trends, but every women should be making sure that she isn't causing an unholy rucus with her fashion or rhetoric and rather helping to improve her environment.
What I am saying is that every woman has her own style of doing the purpose that God gave her, and every man has his own swagger as to how he does the will of God for his life. If gender has you hung up, then instead focus on enjoying all of who you are and not just your gender. Gender was never meant to do harm to us, but to help us find and fulfill our purpose. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone and so he created woman and saw that is was very good. Whether you are male or female, God loves you and he made you on purpose. Embrace the wonder that is you.
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