Sunday, November 18, 2012

God’s View of a Woman

It breaks my heart to see how women today are treated. As most of us already know, many males in our society today show women by their actions that they're just a piece of junk. That their just a piece of meat. All that matters to so many guys today is her body, her appearance, and what she can give to them sexually.You won't find too many guys today opening doors for women. Rather than being there spending time with their wives, many guys will be off playing Grand Theft Auto, drinking, or shooting pool with the bros. And how do a vast number of guys in our society define true beauty in a woman? Seductive clothing, makeup, perfect skin, an ideal figure, and so on. Numerous guys in our culture have affairs. To a number of guys today, a woman is only an object. I could go on and on but you get the point. Once again, it breaks my heart. And it makes me sick. I'm sure that many of you women feel the same.

But gals, you know what's awesome? Jesus came.
In Jesus Christ, we find God’s view of a woman. Not man’s view. Not the American view. But God’s view. Consider this. When God decided to make His entrance upon this planet, He visited a woman. He chose a woman to bring forth the Eternal Son, the Messiah—the Anointed One for whom Israel had waited thousands of years. The life of God was first placed in the womb of a woman before it got to you and to me. And God was not ashamed.
Sisters in Christ, this is your Lord’s view of a woman. Take your high place.

But that’s not all. As Jesus ministered, He ripped down all social conventions that were pitted against women. On one occasion, He rose to the defense of a woman caught in adultery. He became her attorney and saved her life. And God was not ashamed.

Jesus was noted for palling around with sinners. He supped with prostitutes and tax collectors. We are told in John Chapter 4 that He met a woman, and He did something that shocked the disciples. He talked to her in public. And He was not ashamed. Not only was she a woman, but she was a divorcee. But not only was she a divorcee, she was actively living in immorality. Yet not only was she a woman, a divorcee, an adulteress living in sin, she was worse than a Gentile. She was a Samaritan—a half-breed. (A Samaritan was a person with whom Jews were never to talk.) But Jesus talked to this divorced, adulterous, Samaritan woman in public, and He forgave her of her sins. And He was not ashamed.

Sisters, take your high place. This is God’s view of a woman.

Once Jesus was dining with a self-righteous Pharisee. And in walked a woman. But this was not just any woman. She was a woman of the streets—a prostitute. Upon seeing the Lord, she dropped down to her knees and did something unsettling.
In the presence of Pharisees, this woman unbound her hair and poured costly perfume upon His feet. This unclean woman touched Jesus Christ in public. She wept, washed His feet with her tears, and dried them with her hair.
This scandalous and improper act mortified the self-righteous Pharisees. At that moment, these religious leaders lost all respect for Jesus and doubted that He was a true prophet. But your Lord was not ashamed.

Sisters, take your high place. This is God’s view of a woman.

But that’s not all. Your Lord allowed an unclean woman to touch the hem of His garment, and He was not ashamed. In fact, He praised her for it. He also gave a Canaanite woman who was viewed as a dog in the eyes of Israel one of the highest compliments He ever gave anyone. He also healed her daughter, and He was not ashamed.

In the Lord’s last hours on this earth, He stayed in a small village called Bethany. It was there that He would spend His last days before He gave His life on Calvary. In Bethany, two women whom Jesus loved had their home: Mary and Martha. They were His friends, and they received Him. And He was not ashamed.

Sisters, take your high place. This is God’s view of a woman.

When Jesus Christ was taken to die, the Twelve fled. They checked out. All the disciples (except John) said, “See ya!” But the women stayed with Him. They didn’t leave.
They followed Him up to Calvary to do what they had been doing all along—comforting Him, taking care of Him, tending to His needs. And they watched Him undergo a bloody, gory crucifixion that lasted for hours.
To watch a man die a hideous and horrible death is something that goes against every fiber that lives inside of a woman. Yet they would not leave Him. They stayed the entire time. And He was not ashamed.

Sisters, take your high place. This is God’s view of a woman.

Following His death, it was the women who first visited His burial. Even after His death, they were still following Him. They were still taking care of Him. And when He rose again from the dead, the first faces He met—the first eyes that were laid upon Him—were the eyes of women. And it was to them that He gave the privilege of announcing His resurrection, even though their testimony wouldn’t hold up in court. And He was not ashamed.

Sisters, take your high place. This is God’s view of a woman.

But beyond all these wonderful things that the Lord did in showing us how beautiful women are in His eyes, He did something else. He chose you—a woman to depict that which He came to earth to die for—His very Bride. And He is not ashamed.

Sisters, rise to your high place. This is God’s view of a woman.

Brothers, honor your sisters in the Kingdom of God. For God honors them. When our Lord pulled Eve out of Adam, He didn’t take her out of his feet below him. Nor did He take her out from his head above him. He took her out of his side to be equal to him. There’s not much room for chivalry anymore in today’s culture, but we’re to be radically different as followers of Christ. But this again isn’t easy. We need Christ within us, changing us. In Gods world, there is no reason to romance a girl, play with her emotions, take her heart, – unless there is a clear intention that you think this may be girl that you may wish to commit to – for life. So honor them.

Sisters, you are fellow heirs in the Kingdom of God. You are honored. You are cherished. You are valuable. You are needed.

You are His friends, His followers, His daughters, yea, His own kin.
So sisters, take your high place . . . this is God’s view of you.

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