By Rev. Dr. Dawn Weaks
Pastor, Connection Christian Church
March is Women’s History Month. Because women’s health and education levels determine the well-being of each generation, lifting up women means lifting up everybody!
I hope you are celebrating the rich history of women in this community and nation. I am thankful for those who have gone before! And I cannot imagine why we would ever want to limit the contributions of half of the human race. Yet too often in our history that has been the case. Even religion sometimes has been and continues to be a barrier for women’s opportunities. But be encouraged that the Bible is surprisingly full of countercultural resistance to the traditional limits on women’s roles.
Sometimes people do misread Scripture and focus on only one aspect of what the Bible says. For example, you might have heard that wives are supposed to submit to their husbands. That is found in Ephesians 5:22. Be sure to also read Ephesians 5:21, which says husbands and wives are to submit to one another. Also, you may have heard it said that women should not preach according to a verse in 1 Timothy. But why then does the Bible say in 1 Corinthians 11 that when women preach, they should cover their heads, as was the custom in that day? When you read the whole Bible, you will find wholeness for women. When you look at the life of Jesus, you will most certainly find him lifting up women, from the woman at the well in John 4 to the woman who anointed him in Mark 14.
Won’t you join me this month in celebrating the biblical women whom God broke out of the bias of their culture! Here are just a few: Hagar was the first person to give God a special name in Genesis 16. Shiprah and Puah in Exodus 1 were the first to practice civil disobedience for their faith. Deborah was a trusted judge and warrior for God’s people in Judges 4. The prophet Huldah stood among the men as she preached the word of the Lord in 2 Kings 22. Ruth and Esther were so powerful they had their own books named after them! Mary Magdalene is credited in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John with being the one to discover the resurrection of Jesus and proclaim it to others. Lydia was the first pastor of a house church in Acts 16. Phoebe was a female deacon mentioned in Romans 16. Who else would you add?
