Lost in Translation

Yesterday, I asked you to consider your answer to the question, “Why does gender matter?” It’s a heady subject that provides plenty of fodder for cultural thinkers, but this post isn’t written to stir up a sociological debate.

I want to know how gender impacts our own sense of identity. I want to understand what God’s plan for gender means for the way we live every day life. And I want to grasp what God meant when He said in His Word,

“God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27).

If males and females were created in the image of God, what can exploring the subject of gender teach us about God? This is where this subject of gender starts to get really interesting.

In a recent Revive Our Hearts broadcast, Nancy put it this way:

“Male is created in the image of God; female is created in the image of God. But when they function in those complementary and distinct ways, fulfilling their God-given identities as male and female together, there’s a reflection of the image of God that surpasses what is possible for one to do apart from the other.”

My light bulb just went on. Did yours?

Gender matters because it reveals the glory of God in a way that no other element of creation can. You are uniquely female because that brings God glory. Men are distinctly male for the same reason.

Nancy went on to highlight four distinct ways gender reflects the image of God:

• “Male and female reflect the fact that there is plurality within the Trinity. There are relationships within the Trinity.”
• “The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have an interpersonal relationship and intimacy. When male and female come together, their capacity for relationship, love, communication, and honoring one another reflects what takes place within the Trinity.”
• “The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct persons who are equal in personhood and importance. No one is more valuable or necessary than the other, but they don’t have identical functions. That’s how male and female reflect the image and the likeness of God.”
• “Gender differences are intended to be an earthly picture of the redemptive story, the love of Christ for His Bride—how He pursues and wins her heart, and she gladly responds to Him with reverence and submission. Male and female are to picture on earth something of the heavenly, eternal, redemptive story.”

This is my favorite part . . . God created gender be a picture of the best love story ever told. He assigned each of us a role to play in telling the story of His grace, love, and ultimate rescue of His beloved Church.

When we erase the distinctions between man and woman, the story gets lost in translation. Celebrating the fact that we are created as gendered beings on purpose tees us up to understand more fully that our job is to point to a loving God.

What are some specific ways you can celebrate your femininity and put God’s glory on full display?