SCRIPTURE: The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 1 Corinthians 12:21 ESV
THOUGHT: Hate crime to me is symbolized in a bumper sticker I saw at our local Walmart this week: “The future is female.” I watched the woman get her little boy out of the car and walk into the store holding his hand and wondered what kind of life he would lead. Honestly, I don’t care if it said “the future is male,” how can 50% of the population say to the other 50%, “I have no need of you.” It’s hateful. And yet, isn’t that what is happening and has been in variations on a theme since time immortal?
Well, not quite, because in the beginning God told Adam, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for [or corresponding to] him (Genesis 2:18 ESV).” The phrase in Hebrew is ezer kenegdov and it means “a help, helper in front of, in sight of, opposite to.” Far from an inferior companion, the phrase describes a powerful help, close at hand, and it’s derivatives are used in Scripture from this point primarily to describe God’s kind of help, as in Psalm 121:2, “my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.”
When God made humans Imago Dei, perhaps he was envisioning a help for Adam that would be like Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit are to him within the relationship of the Godhead. Unity, not disunity. Power-sharing, not power grabbing. Cooperative, not competitive.
Rather than one-upmanship between men and women, shouldn’t we be finding ourselves in the same trench fighting those who would seek the destruction of our unity and power and cooperation? Rather than fertilizing the weeds and pain of the fall shouldn’t we be fighting together to clear land of weeds and grow babies who love God in spite of a world rife with sin and strife?
Rather than committing hate crimes shouldn’t we be the first to see the treasure in every hand, foot, and eye within the Body of Christ, who is the head?
PRAYER: Oh God, forgive us for this disunity for we know not what we do. Return us again and again to our mandate of fruitfulness, we who love you, and let a world who is watching see the power in loving like you.
Dear Reader,
I’m glad you’re along and I pray you will be blessed, challenged, and encouraged in your faith by something you read here.
There are archives by topic below – now more than 1000 of these daily meditations to browse.
ABOUT ME:
Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.
FREE TO YOU:
If you’d like to be notified of this blog each weekday, please look for the little blue “follow” button below (just above the topical search), and welcome!
asipoblog.com 