them

Gen. 1:26   Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

i love that. "them" and "us" and "our" and "them." you know my pastor mentioned in his talk the other day that he really has no idea why God likes to speak of himself in the masculine form. but what he does know is that God created them. "male and female he created them." he said, he knows that somehow there are two sides of God's nature, per say that male and female were created from.

i love the imagery this brings to my mind. i can't describe it. just awesome. both with a purpose. both with unique things to contribute that the other might not even get close to achieving on their own. something that would be and is unachievable unless we do it together.... together. wow. what a masterpiece. (and when I say together. i'm not envisioning a marriage relationship although i do think that is a masterpiece too.) but together "let them rule over the fish of the sea and birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." this isn't hypothetical. this is clear. together. we were created and designed to work and much more be together. relating to each other. not fighting each other. i truly don't believe that God ever intended, wanted or wished for women to struggle to be heard and respected. it just makes me sad. the constant struggle.

and the church's typical response to it makes me even more sad. there are so many churches out there that simply get it all wrong. and i've seen the damaging effects of it. and even experienced some of them personally. this isn't how it's supposed to be. these churches remind me how thankful i am to be involved in a church that uses and believes in and acts upon the words "them" and "us" and "our" and "them."