Ok, let’s see what kind of trouble I can cause today? If I haven’t offended you yet – give it a moment. I believe that Women should know their place and that the Men in their life should remind them of it! That probably did it... Hopefully that came out correctly and you didn’t misunderstand the implication of my statement. Does it matter if I say, “It’s all in God’s Word!” Aw ... c’mon!? Do I really have to explain myself? Let’s unpack this thing quickly before I get too carried away! So, God spoke, and a lot of stuff happened right?! But - the game changed when He said... “Let Us make mankind in Our image,” Side note 1: Animals were created according to “their kind” but WE were created in the Image of God - in His likeness. We are NOT animals! “In the image of God, He created them; male and female He created them.” So He created Man – that’s great, but our cake still needs an egg!
Our universe wasn’t complete, and God didn’t rest until He made - Woman!
And... I personally think it’s cool that God saved the best for last, don’t you? Furthermore, don’t overlook the fact that Adam was deliberately put to sleep while God performed His handy work. Now, I’m not a fan of our worlds mission to undermine the value and purpose of men, but you know if Adam had been awake, that dude would have tried to get involved and likely made a mess of the entire thing. I’m inclined more each day to believe that God does his most impressive work when we truly rest / sleep. I mean c’mon, Adam woke up to a naked woman in his crib – that’s pretty impressive! So, here is God, completely focused on the creation of Woman because it was NOT good for a man to be alone. God even calls out that the Woman was created to be a “helper” for the man – which implies Adam was incapable of something if not everything on his own and needed help! Additionally, If the word “helper” offends the Women reading this – I ask you to please consider the fact that Jesus came to “help” us all and he left so that the Holy Spirit, AKA the “Helper / Advocate” would come to “teach us all things and remind us of everything.”
Now, if that last part doesn’t sound like a Woman – I don’t know what does?! C’mon now – that’s funny – cuz it’s true!
When you think about God, Jesus, Spirit, or the Bible – does your mind immediately default to all the different names and stories you’ve learned about men? Mine used to however, as my heart for men continues to grow stronger, I’m being lead to see that Jesus’s pursuance of and His heart for Women is unlike anything in this world.
Take for instance, the Woman at the well – sometimes referred to as the Samaritan Woman. John writes to us explaining that Jesus was headed to Galilee from Judea and “had to go through Samaria”. At first glance when you look at a map, it would appear to you as though when Jesus traveled, he would have to pass through Samaria, or actually the small town of Samaria called Sychar. And you would be wrong!
No one would have taken that route!
Look, and see for yourself the traditional route that would have been taken and why. There’s a huge flipping mountain range in the way and it would have actually been easier to double the mileage traveled and cross the Jordan river two times rather than to endure the terrain of the shortest distance. Not to mention, Jews (Jesus and his crew) and Samaritans hated each other, and it would have been nonsensical or even dangerous for them to travel through a town of people that hated them.
Samaria… sounds like “Some Area”
Side note 2: I wonder if I have “some area” in my life full of things that I hate and am avoiding but need to make the purposeful and difficult journey through?
Side note 3: Some time’s the shortest distance to a Woman’s heart is the toughest terrain to travel??? (God just gave me that as I’m writing, so I’ma drop that in here)
So, Jesus left Judea and instead of taking the preferred route to Galilee, roughs it to Samaria through the mountains with a bunch of obnoxious, and likely stinky, young men for a 22 hour hike - and for what? One Woman - and not just any Woman! Jesus was on His way to meet a Woman that was on her way to draw water from a well in the middle of the day. She’s getting water in the middle of the day because she was likely an outcast of her society – unwelcomed by the others in her town who would have collectively gotten their days’ worth of water early in the morning when it was much cooler.
This Woman is the reason Jesus “had” to go through Samaria and was the loving focus of His attention. When Jesus arrives, he sits down near the well “tired as he was from the journey” and he waits for her to arrive while His disciples went into town and grabbed some burritos.
Men, did you catch that? Not the burrito part, the part where Jesus was early, and waited on her to be ready!? Here, Jesus writes the easy to read manual on one way we as Men can honor and respect the Women in our lives. For the dudes in the back row - Lovingly placing them near the center of our attention, being early, and patiently waiting on them to be ready.
My beautiful bride and lovely daughter will likely read this someday and I hope that by then they will have seen the changes I’ve made to show them this kind of love. Furthermore, my son may see this, and I hope that both its content along with his observations of my behaviors have a generational impact through him on the Woman that will come from my family.
Moving on…
I think about the humiliation this Woman faced each day having to walk alone to get her resources. I wonder what snickering and gossip this Woman overheard being said about her as she traveled, tired and overheated, in and out of town, being observed by onlookers and accusers. I’m curious if the insults and accusations she was aware of became the stories she adopted about herself and about her worth. Perhaps there was one person that abrasively stood out from everyone else and was the instigator that drove the nasty narratives. Maybe it was someone that she loved and used to be her friend. Or perhaps it was one of the five husbands she previously had or even the man she was currently with that was not her husband.
Hm? Is that you? Are you letting the world tell you who you are? Are you hiding in the heat of day? That’s not where you belong, and you need to get in your place!
It’s time to get ready, come out of hiding, battle the eyes of the crowd, and head for that well! I want you to know that there is someone patiently waiting just for you with the heart of a Father that knows you’re tired and thirsty for a drink from the living well. A drink that will truly quench your thirst and become in you a spring of water welling up to eternal life!
And if you’re still scuffed about my headline and not yet understanding the message about a Woman's place – then you’re not paying attention! Try this…
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning”. That Word is Jesus, and from the time He created us until now, men have been consistently avoiding their responsibility to properly lead and own their role as Men, Husbands, Fathers, and Sons. So now, in God’s incomprehensible provision, He became flesh, miraculously through a Woman- no man involved, and made His dwelling among us. Patiently waiting 33 years, traveling to, and waited for a Woman to start spreading His gospel.
That should light your fire up – even if you’ve got wet wood! Ok, I’ve gotta run for the day so, let’s call this Part 1 cause there’s so much more ground to cover here. Love ya’ll
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