OUR YOUNG WOMEN WILL LEAVE UNLESS …
Jeanenne Nichols

As we look further into the place of women in the church it is of some significance that when the news of the resurrection of our Lord was first proclaimed, it was believed only by women, not by men. And women were the first to proclaim the message to others. When the two Marys and Joanna, along with other women, went to the tom b and found it empty and were told by two angels that Jesus was risen, they hurried away to tell his disciples, “but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them” (Lk. 24:11).

The resurrection appearances make it clear that the women readily believed while the men doubted. Two male disciples on the road to Emmaus reported that “some women of our company amazed us” with news of the empty tomb. Were they amazed because God revealed himself to women? They went on to say that the men checked out the story for themselves and “found it just as the women had said.” But the resurrected Lord, to whom they were saying all this, did not praise them for checking out the women’s story, but rather said, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe” (Lk. 24:25). The women by contrast remembered his words and believed (Lk. 24:8). They were not surprised that Jesus’ words were fulfilled, but believed and reported what they heard and saw.

I do not believe that males who are committed followers of our Lord see themselves as superior to females. The men who wrote the gospel narratives told the truth about men. Matthew was willing to tell that it was a man who betrayed Christ, that it was men who deserted him, and that it was women who remained faithful to the end. It was male writers that tell how the women sat by the tomb, listened to the angels, touched the risen Savior, and ran to tell the eleven men who were in hiding!

In all my study of God’s plan for me, a female believer in the Lord and Savior of all mankind, the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10 is what convicted me of what his will is for me and all males. The message is this: Don’t be distracted by what men and the world would consider your job as a woman —housework, cooking, having babies. One thing only is needed of male or female, sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to his teaching.

In the next chapter, Lk. 11:27 -28, Jesus affirms this message to me. A woman cried out, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!,” which was woman’s concept of herself in that culture. But Jesus said no —“blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” Jesus seems to be saying that one is not any more blessed if she is female and can bear children than if she were male and cannot. The blessing is in hearing and obeying.

I thank God that I was born into a family with a father who taught me I was created in the image of God and treated me with respect. He never made my mother, my sisters, or me feel that we were less “children and joint heirs” than he and other males. I thank God for a husband of 25 years who has affirmed my worth as a human being created in the image of God. Our marriage is the united bond of friendship and love that it is because my husband has no need or desire to “rule” over me. We are children of the King, seeking His will for our lives together, equally but uniquely as God planned.

My pain and frustration as a female in the church extends beyond wanting only my own gifts to be shared. I am just as concerned about anyone, male or female, who sits in the assembly of believers with gifts lying dormant. Our Lord teaches, “To whom much is given, much is required” (Lk. 12:48). When gifts are given us, much is required of us, male or female.

The Church of Christ is part of me. My grandfather was a preacher and my father was an elder in this denomination. My grandmother led singing in Churches of Christ in Iowa and California. My mother taught me what hospitality really means, and to believe that I am worthy in the eyes of Jesus as a female. But I must “Listen to Him” of whom God spoke at the Transfiguration, and so must all God’s female children. The Church of Christ is not listening to Jesus concerning women, and I and especially my daughters, along with other truth-seeking young women among us will not be with our denomination for long if we are not recognized as joint heirs in the Kingdom.

I beg us all to search the Scriptures for the will of the one we follow, Jesus the Christ. Ask yourself how Jesus treated women. Whether we follow his teaching and example is not an option. It is our calling, for our life is a quest for a knowledge of His will for us.

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master; it is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master” (Mt. 10:24). —1310 Summoner Lane, Abilene, TX 79602