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AFFIRMING AND
CELEBRATING THE GIFT OF GENDER
Jean Bearden and
Lorie Schleck
As subject matter
for Christian preaching and teaching, gender is often treated
like an eccentric and difficult family relative. Some ignore it,
hoping it will go away. Some tiptoe furtively around it, hoping
to avoid confrontation. Those willing to pull up a chair and sit
awhile often find they have engaged in a conversation that
meanders here and there and evades simple dialogue.
The purpose of this
article is to re-examine gender and to frame it in a way that
can free both preacher and teacher to sit more comfortably with
the topic of gender—allowing it to reveal itself as a gift that
can show us much about God.
We learn at a very
young age that there are two kinds of people: male and female.
Infants as young as nine months of age can distinguish between
male and female faces. From an early age, the ability to
categorize oneself and others according to gender is basically
an automatic and effortless process.
Getting beyond this
point is the hard part. Because the moment we look beyond the
mere fact that gender exists and try to ascertain its
particulars, things get unclear. Our efforts to assign meaning,
definition, and value to gender—to say that women are this and
do this and look like this, while men are that and do that and
look like that—land us in a place that holds more mystery than
clarity.
For example, we
could try to divide male and female into two distinct lists of
characteristics. We might say that women are intuitive,
cooperative, and sensitive while men are logical, competitive,
and aggressive. But as soon as a list like this is delineated,
it is apparent that it doesn’t serve its purpose. Of course some
women are much more logical than intuitive. Conversely, some men
are much more cooperative than competitive. Karl Stern captures
our understanding of this when he says, “None of the many
different ‘male’ or ‘female’ characteristics established by
numerous authors have been found in pure form in one individual”
(The Flight from Woman, Paragon House Publishers).
We might try to
simplify gender by relegating it to specific roles. Women are
caregivers, supporters, helpers, while men are leaders,
bread-winners, initiators. Again, this system breaks down
quickly when faced with empirical reality. There are
families—healthy, functional families—where men function as
caregivers and women as bread-winners. In fact, fluidity of
roles is often one hallmark of a functional family, corporation,
or church because it allows men and women to operate in areas
where they are gifted and where they can contribute best.
So we are back to
what we knew in infancy: there is male and female. Beyond that,
gender does not fit strict categorization or rigid description.
For all its
inscrutability, there is one thing we can know and trust about
gender. It is deliberate.
God deliberately
divided gender into two distinct entities. “God created male and
female.” What is more, God’s Word directly links these two
entities to God’s own image (Gen 1:27, TNIV). “So God created
human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created
them, male and female he created them.”
So here’s God’s
gender-related math equation: Two genders = one image. The
existence of male and female is
at the very heart of the image of God. The image of God is
something that Lisa Graham McMinn calls a “corporate reality.”
Something that is “present among humans in relationship with
others.” This means, as Stanley Grenz states, that “man is not
the image of God by himself, and woman cannot be the image of
God by herself.” Two genders. One image.
As a means of
categorizing and cataloging people, gender is very limited. It
doesn’t fit neatly into distinct domains of behavior or
definition or meaning. But as a way of illuminating who God is,
gender is an amazing tool, a wonderful asset.
When we look at the
general tendencies in how men and women relate to the world and
to each other as a means of exploring who God is, gender becomes
inclusive and revelatory rather than divisive. What we often
hear defined as ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ characteristics can be
considered an exploration into God’s
character:
For example,
investing in and valuing relationships is
often a trademark of women. But relationships are also
something God values—consider that He was willing to pay the
price of His Son to be in relationship with us. Valuing
relationships is not a woman-thing, it is a God-thing, a part of
God’s image that is reflected in us. As such, it is something
important to both men and women.
Another example is
initiating and leading,
characteristics often culturally assigned to men. Initiating and
leading are also part of who God is—consider how God led the
people in the desert with a pillar by day and a fire by night
and how, while we were still dead in our sins, God initiated a
plan to save us. Thus, initiating and leading are things that
reflect who God is and, as such, they are important to both men
and women.
A list of God’s
characters that are reflected in men and women would include:
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Supporting or
lending strength to another is displayed by God in the work
of the Holy Spirit who “helps us in our weakness.”
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Reasoning and
rational thought are displayed in God when he beckons “Come,
let us reason together.”
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Intuition is
displayed by God when He reacts to us with grace, love and
mercy—ideas that transcend reason and logic.
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Doing and
achieving are displayed by God in all God accomplished, such
as leading his people out of slavery and into the promised
land.
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Being and
bringing meaning are displayed by God in the promise to,
“Give us rest,” and in admonitions to, “Be still” and to
find strength in, “Quietness and trust.”
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Valuing process
is displayed by God in Isaiah where God rebukes the
Israelites for giving an offering that was not preceded by
the process of obedience.
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Justice is
displayed by God in Isaiah and again in Matthew where God
promises that Jesus will “proclaim justice to the nations.”
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Mercy is
displayed by God in God’s motivation for redeeming us.
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Love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control are characteristics displayed by
Jesus, valued by God, and promised to us as fruit of the
Holy Spirit.
Each of these traits
has been typified as feminine or masculine, or at least more of
one than the other. But these traits are really God-traits, part
of God’s character, parts of God’s image.
Gender is an amazing
gift—and an important topic for
preaching and teaching—when viewed as
a visible, colorful tapestry of characteristics that reflect
God’s image. Framed as such, gender is not something awkward or
difficult, but something affirming, in that all can be
valued for their unique ability to express aspects of God’s
image. It is revelatory, in that it allows us to connect
in a tangible way with the God of the universe. And it is
celebratory, in that it allows us to see and rejoice in the
amazing, wondrous character of God.
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