The house was filled with voices quietly conversing. Suddenly she walked in and went straight to the feet of Jesus. She was visibly broken. With her dark eyes full of shame and humility, she immediately bowed her head as tears fell down her face.
"He is the Master....the Messiah, she thought. "He has come and He has received me....He has received me."
Any woman who has ever experienced being fully known but yet fully loved and accepted can testify to the power of such a reality. Tears poured from her eyes as she washed the feet of Jesus with her hair, clinging to him as she wept. One would think this to be a powerful moment that couldn't be destroyed but the disciples, in arrogant piety, attempted to lecture Jesus, questioning Him about why He would ever allow a woman to touch Him!
Following the recent events within the SBC, the topic of women and abuse is all the rage. While many can debate their opinions, my heart has been fixed on one part of the issue and that is this: Women matter to Jesus.
In ancient times, women were oppressed and treated as a possession, not a person. The Church tried to whitewash that belief system by encouraging women to embrace full submission to all men. When society chimed in with their feminism rallies, everything changed and plummeted downhill. Now here we stand in 2018 when womanhood is defined by pants vs dresses and kitchen vs office cubicle. What is our role? Where is our place? Who are we?
Are we to be the roaring woman of the 21st century who is empowered by the right to vote, the right to equal pay, and the right to preach from the pulpit?
Are we to be the quiet woman of tradition who is submissive to every command, subservient to all imposed authority, and smiling all throughout the journey?
I say no to both!
Sisters, we were not created to be anything other than what God Himself formed in the womb. I am repelled by the feminist movement that manipulates women into thinking aggression is attractive. Can women do anything men can do? The truth is No, we simply cannot. We can open our own doors and mow our own lawns but there are some things we cannot do and some roles we have no business trying to fill. But we were also not created to be mousy little homebodies whose voice is unheard, whose body is to be used solely for the pleasure of a man, and whose heart is of no importance at all. No amount of religious ideology can reshape our identity as a child of God. What we have forgotten is that where the waters have been muddied by tradition and political correctness, all it takes is a divine touch from God to make that water turn to wine. Sister, you matter.
Jesus sees the pain of sexual assault and abuse and extends his tender love to each fearful heart.
Jesus grieves with every woman whose life has been shattered by an earthly man, and His nail scarred hands can heal every broken piece.
Jesus sees every shove, every hit, every bruise and every kick, and holds out his arms to hold each hurting daughter.
Every woman full of shame and worthlessness, Jesus welcomes with their box of alabaster. Why? Oh, because He loves us!
Your broken heart matters. Your solitary night spent in the darkness matters. Every tear born out of the depths of a life altered by all types of wrongdoing matters to Jesus.
The woman who approached Jesus had caught a glimpse of the true nature of God Almighty. There was no more shame, for all the shame had been placed on the Godhead. There was no more need to prove herself worthy, for all worthiness belongs to the One who calls us beloved. There was no more fear of being forsaken and forgotten, for each and every promise of comfort and fellowship is from the lips of the God who cannot lie.
Take comfort in knowing that the Father loves you. And Christ Himself looks at you with the adoring eyes of a Savior whose love will never change or ever fail. Go to His feet and worship Him for bestowing upon all of mankind the kind of love that matters.
Kristen