[From the archives. I thought this appropriate for Valentine’s Day.]
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Back in college I had a particularly painful break-up.
It wasn’t painful for her. She told me we were not going out any more and then she started dating another guy. Or she started dating the other guy and then told me we were done.
I’m not really sure of the chronology.
How did I respond? Perhaps not so surprisingly, I wrote about it.
Women! Who needs them? Not me. All they do is take your heart and wad it up into a little ball and throw it on the floor and stomp on it. Well, you can try that with some other poor sap, but don’t try it around me. I’m done with women.
I was dating someone new within a month.
God’s Plan Includes Women? Who Knew?
God spent six days creating everything, and repeatedly pronounced every day’s creation to be good. At the end, he looked on all he had made and said it was very good. It’s a bit surprising to read then:
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18, emphasis added.)
Something in all that was very good was not good? Odd, that. But God knew what to do.
So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:21-22.)
He made a companion for the man. Did you notice that God did not make another man, a buddy that Adam could pal around with? Good thing, too, because I imagine a world full of men without women would look like the campfire scene from Blazing Saddles.
All of creation needed a woman
Here’s the thing. I don’t think God created Eve solely for Adam’s benefit, that women are here just so men can marry them. I think God created them male and female in his own image (Genesis 1:27) because it takes men and women together to be the complete image bearers of God. There is something about women that reflects God in ways that men don’t and vice versa. Adam wasn’t the only one missing out before God created eve.
So who needs women? We all do.
Who needs men? We all do.
And most importantly, who needs the God who created both women and men?
We all do.
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Bahahahaha! “Who wants ta kill ‘im?”
I just don’t understand the movement in our culture these days to try to make men and women androgynous. How much more wonderful is it that we reflect the story of Christ and his church? I like how you emphasize that we all need women and men for this, Tim.
Thanks Aimee. The drive by some to pretend that there are no differences baffles me. There is such variety between and within the sexes, and I see it all as evidence of God’s extremely creative nature.
Loved this “it takes men and women together to be the complete image bearers of God.” Hopefully that silences any strident voice of protest from feminists and male chauvinists! Or is that too much to hope for? 😛
If it doesn’t silence them, I hope it at least gives them something to think about, Shalini!
Aye!
Tim, I appreciate this post very much and believe it speaks of the wonderful relationship men and women can have together. What a blessing that God made both male and female, and in His own image! And while I may disagree with a few here that any differences between men and women are inherent (I believe most are culturally taught) I do believe that God made the two genders for a specific reason and that it displays His richness in creation when they work together in a partnership, each using the gifts God gave them.
Signed, a feminist AND a Christian 🙂
“His richness in creation when they work together in a partnership” – so well said, NMP!