An Open Mind and an Open Heart - Day 167 Month 6-16 Week 24-6
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
Judges 4, Psalm 133, Jeremiah 44:20-30, Acts 7:1-53
An Open Mind and an Open Heart
Full disclosure: I am an egalitarian. I’m a person who believes men and women are equal in all ways and that within the church (and in every other area of life), both men and women can hold leadership and service roles based on their giftings without distinction based on gender.
Complementarians believe men and women are equal but have separate roles, with all leadership and teaching in the church restricted to men.
Listen to what God says about leadership in the following bible verses:
“When the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge (Judges 2:18).”“Deborah, a prophetess, was judging Israel at that time (Judges 4:4).” This means that God, not man, chose a woman to lead Israel.
Deborah sent Barak to defeat Sisera and his army, but Barak said he would only go if Deborah accompanied him. Deborah replied, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman (Judges 4:9).” Both Deborah and Jael were women. Deborah led Israel, and Jael killed Sisera.
The culture at that time was heavily male dominated, and up until this point we have seen Israel led almost exclusively by men. Yet God chose Deborah, and Deborah proved to be an effective leader. I realize that many who hold a complementarian theology look to Paul's teachings in the New Testament to support their viewpoint. However, when I read the Bible, I am especially interested in how it reveals the character of God and - God chose a woman to lead.
Jesus first appeared to a woman after His resurrection. He also sent the woman at the well back to her town, where she introduced many people to Him. The fact that we see fewer women in leadership throughout history often seems to be influenced more by culture than by what we learn about God's character.
In our home, leadership is shared. Sometimes I lead; sometimes Sylvia leads. When we are renovating our home, I usually take the lead because I have a better understanding of construction and tend to think more like an engineer. Sylvia often asks questions or suggests alternatives, and quite often her ideas improve the outcome.
When we are working in the yard, Sylvia leads. She has a stronger vision for gardens and landscape design and is the more artistic of the two of us. God has given each of us different gifts, and we do ourselves a disservice if we fail to make full use of them. Sometimes we experience friction, usually because we are both strong-willed and opinionated. When I write this blog, I often have good ideas about what I want to say, but Sylvia frequently edits my writing and contributes additional insights because she is simply a better writer than I am.
In the church, I have heard women who are clearly gifted teachers, and I have listened to male preachers who perhaps would have been better suited to gardening. Our gifts should help determine the roles we take in any specific function.
In our Acts reading today, Stephen responds to the high priest with a history lesson. When Sylvia is explaining something to me, there is often a story before she gets to the point. She is a storyteller, and usually her story is leading somewhere important. Sometimes I become impatient and ask for the point before the story is finished because I want the conclusion immediately. That is not always fair because the story provides the necessary background for understanding the point.
Stephen does the same thing in his response to the high priest. The high priest knew the facts of Israel's history, but only from his own perspective as opposed to the lens of Jesus. Stephen's entire history lesson builds toward this conclusion: “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. (Acts 7:51)” He then continues by explaining how their predecessors persecuted and killed those who prophesied about Jesus.
Although these men were religious leaders, they were not open to Jesus or to what the Torah, the prophets, and the other Scriptures revealed about Him. Today we have both those writings and the New Testament, yet many still do not believe.
My encouragement today is to remain open-minded. The themes I have discussed can be approached with either an open mind or a closed one. Be open to the things of God and listen to the Holy Spirit. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you. If you do not know the Holy Spirit, you may not yet know Jesus. Ask me how you can know Him.
Have a great day!
Steve
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