A Woman's Worth, by Elaine Stedman
Chapter 4.
Creative Sexuality
Men and women are different, and we have bodies to prove it! No
amount of ingenuity can conclusively rearrange the evidence for
our physiological differences. We are biologically, emotionally
and spiritually equipped for different and distinctive roles.
Thus, we have certain norms, or what Margaret Mead terms "cultural
universals" in society, resulting from what is fundamentally
true to human nature. While exceptions do exist, almost invariably
the mother is the principal caretaker of the child and the male
is the breadwinner.
It is not my purpose to amass supportive evidence to prove or
disprove cultural adaptation. However, according to Time
magazine, March 20, 1972, "Recent research hints there may
even be sex differences in the brain, which may be 'masculinized'
by 'testosterone' before birth." Research indicates boy and
girl babies follow a pattern of objective-subjective differences
in their reactions to geometric figures vs. photographs of faces,
the boys responding to objective stimuli, the girls to subjective.
Study after study point to major differences between the sexes
in aggression vs. spatial ability."
Personality differences are detectable at remarkably early ages,
and tests have substantiated similar differences in monkeys and
baboons. In the same issue of Time magazine, the conclusion
is that these observable differences "force us to consider
the possibility that some of the psychological differences between
men and women may not be the product of experience alone but of
subtle
biological differences."
For about two decades there has been a notable reluctance to acknowledge
these and later confirming studies, by a media accommodating to
radical feminists. Lately, however, this data is being regarded
as an ally to support the supposition that women are superior
to men. (So much for the claim to be seeking equality!)
However we may wish to deny it, the issue of our sexuality is
decidedly emotional, which in itself substantiates that we are
psycho-sexual beings. Secular investigation, however intent on
objectivity, tends to serve the purpose of the investigator, with
data manipulated toward a biased end.
The Book of Genesis is one of the earliest records of sexuality.
It is likely therefore to be culturally unbiased, pristine, and
radical (the dictionary defines radical as "of or from the
root; fundamental; basic"). For the Christian, to whom God
is both Truth and Love, it is a true and loving definition of
who we are. God does not waste his design, as his orderly and
intricate creation affirms. He did not give to the masterpiece
of his creation a male-female design without purpose, and we may
be sure that this purpose is in harmony with the whole of his
creative design.
In the world of nature there are countless expressions of what
might well be labeled "masculinity-femininity." The
existence of a creation presupposes a Creator, to whom the creation
would be subject. This relationship of dominance and subjection
characterizes a "masculinity-femininity" principle.
To illustrate, consider the response of the tide to the force
of gravity; the response and dependency of all green plants to
the energy of light; the moon's reflection of the glory of the
sun; and the nucleus around which the electron revolves. Our language
reflects this principle in many ways. For example, we speak of
the sun as masculine, whose energy in the form of light produces
vegetation in "mother earth."
From this perspective, God the Creator can be thought of as masculine
in relation to his creation and his creation as feminine in relation
to Him. The Genesis text tells us that mankind was created in
the image of God. It is this unique image which distinguishes
us from the animal world. We share with our Creator self-awareness,
the capacity for rational thinking, and the ability to moralize
and be creative. This equips us for making moral choices, and
to have dominion over all the earth. Our dominion, however, is
according and subject to the sovereign authority and the character
of the Creator-God. It is therefore intended to be dominion which
is benign, caring, preserving and enhancing. This serves to characterize
the intent for our mutual humanity.
It seems entirely reasonable to infer from our biological distinctives
that it is our Creator's intent to use those differences for the
purpose of imaging (not imagining!) facets of his own Being, since
the biblical account makes clear we were created in his image.
It is certainly unarguable that throughout the scriptures God
is referred to as our Father. He is indeed the Initiator of life,
the Provider who both allows us to make moral choices and assumes
ultimate responsibility for our choices. The price paid for our
rebellious choices was his redemptive initiative! In the highest
theological (God-related) sense, biology does give significance
to our human destiny, and, conversely, God's highest purpose for
our humanity gives the deepest meaning to our biological distinctives.
The Father-God is the ultimate paradigm for the role of the father
in the family unit. Without the biblical Patriarch the male is
left to his own ego interpretation of his function as a father.
Lacking the elaborate biological involvement of the mother in
the reproductive process, and outsider to the intimacy of gestation
and lactation, the male can, and too often does, become renegade.
The father who sees the responsibility and privilege of godliness,
allowing the Father-God to shadow image his Fatherhood (masculinity)
through his maleness, will find fulfillment and joy in his human
role, or function.
In the human reproductive process, the male introduces the sperm
into the ovum, where it is received, and nurtured to fruition
by the female. If indeed there is a shadow image of God's character
in the man, a complementary female role imaging God's loving nurture
would appear not only logical but necessary to the fulfillment
of God's purpose for creating us in his image, male and female.
Following this perspective, the essential element in maleness
is the concept of masculinity: the sovereign, loving authority
of God as he relates to his people. The complement of femininity
in femaleness is the willing, reverential, responsive subjection
of his people to that authority. Each is equal in value. Both
are equally necessary to complete the portrait. Their value derives
from their mutual purpose: making God known to His creation. Here
we are on planet earth, staged as the principle players in God's
cosmic self-disclosure! How can we see anything less than the
highest human dignity in that divine partnership!
Why, then, did God define our humanity as male-female? Once again,
it would appear that this is a miniature portrayal, a microcosm,
of the larger principle of masculinity-femininity. Thus, male
authority is a shadow image of God as sovereign over his creation,
while female responsive subjection illustrates the appropriate
attitude toward that authority. The necessary caution here is
the reminder that male dominance must not violate the female privilege/responsibility
of moral choice, since that is basic to her humanity. Nor does
the dominant authority role indicate superiority, since each function
is a necessary component to imaging the character of God.
There is no value in a coerced subjection nor in a pretense of
supportive serving. The Lord sees the heart! Nothing short of
godly leadership is honoring to God. And nothing less than submissive
serving which is done "as unto the Lord" fulfills God's
intent. Where this is violated, the image of God is distorted
and God's character misrepresented in our roles. It is not a matter
of fine-tuning our functions to look good and feel good or to
buy favor with God or with people. Our distinctive roles only
fulfill God's purpose when reflecting Spirit-filled, Spirit-directed
obedience to our Lord, who at all times submitted to the will
of his Father. It is that submission to the Father's will that
brings joy and fulfillment. THAT is the bottom line to the whole
notion of mutual submission!
Neither function is fulfilled in self-promotion, and God's design
and purpose are denied in any and all power struggles. Human relations
will truly represent God's character as they reflect the perfect
unity and harmony in the Triune Godhead. This rules out competition
and comparisons.
Thus, we may view ourselves as intricately woven into the universal
fabric of masculinity-femininity, the Creator-God's vast, inscrutable
master plan in which he invests the incomparable beauty of his
own character in the universe. There is an exhilarating excitement
in being caught up in the magnitude of the Creator's plan. We
must cry out with the Apostle Paul:
"O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of
God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his
ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been
his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be
repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen" (Romans 11:33-36).
It is a liberating experience to see oneself from this perspective,
to be relieved of the confining minutia of self-centered demands.
Such a perspective removes the vexing frustration of trying to
out-wit, out-maneuver, and second-guess our circumstances and
relationships.
Our sexuality can be a cesspool of hostility, anxiety, destructive
tension, guilt, and frustration a tyranny which robs us of the
glory of our humanity. But God meant it for good! To us, as sexual
beings, God has entrusted the incredible privilege and responsibility
of telling his story, painting his portrait, describing his character,
for the entire universe to see. The truth about God, and ourselves,
sets us free. The truth is that he is the initiator and we are
the responders. He is the initiator of life, of love, of truth:
"We love, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
Jesus said of himself: "I am the way, and the truth and the
life" (John 14:6). In his nature, in his life, and in his
word, truth and life eternally exist. In choosing to respond to
Jesus Christ, we acknowledge him as the initiator of life, truth,
and love, and these verities can only be defined in terms of who
he is.
He is the Giver and we are the receivers. He is the Shepherd and
we are the sheep. He is the Redeemer and we the redeemed. He is
the Lover and we are the loved. The purpose of our sexuality is
to tell the story of God's romance with his people. Man and woman
are the climax of God's design in which he is telling over and
over the ways in which he relates with loving authority to his
creation.
Chapter 5.
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