Devotion for Wednesday 25 August
Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watchword for today is taken from the Book of Genesis, Chapter One verse Twenty Seven, “God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them,” (NRSVB). In the Genesis accounts of the creation we read that God had great joy in his handiwork. He was very pleased when he looked at the created universe, scripture states that God blessed his work. God created humans to be very good, unique, the crown of his creation. The psalmist writes in Psalm 8, “God made humans a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned them with glory and honour,” (Amplified Bible). The purposes of God’s creation and his will for humanity are clearly stated in God’s words to Jeremiah in Chapter 29 verse 11, “I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you. Thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome,” (Amplified Bible). God saw that Adam was alone in the garden, all the other creatures had companions. God created man and woman to be companions. Enmity between the genders is not part of God’s plan. God created nature and humans to live together and compliment each other in order to achieve worthy outcomes that benefit all. Men and women can work together and appreciate each other’s unique composition. Both are created to live unto God, both are created in the image of God and both are blessed with glory and honour. God did not created man and woman to the detriment of each other.
The Apostle Paul writes in the First Letter to the Corinthians, in Chapter 11 verses 11 to 12, “In the Lord woman is not independent of man or man independent of woman. For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman; but all things come from God,” (NRSVB). The world around us does not recognize God and his power and objectives. For the world to function and gain control and power, peace is unwanted. Where animosity and division flourish, hate sets in. Where people are pitted against each other, and genders taught to treat each other with contempt, the structure and fibre of society break down. Chaos is the outcome. It benefits only the instigators, and only for a very short time. The so-called “will to peace” of the world is not peace, it is at best a truce and very fragile. When men and women look at each other through the lens of God’s love and God’s purpose, it will become profoundly clear that God awarded them equality in his sight. Christ’s work on the cross is a gift for all, being a child of God is a gift for all. God ordained men and women to work together, side by side, in the kingdom of heaven on earth.
In the Letter to the Galatians in Chapter 3 verse 28, Paul wrote, “There is now no distinction, neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male or female; for you are all one in Christ,” (Amplified Bible). Our place and function in the body of Christ is being a member who glorifies God and the other. We work together to bring freedom and peace. We do not act to gain power and control, one group over the other. When this understanding is embraced, we will be able to work together in the work of God, to bring about the peace of the Kingdom of Heaven, on earth. One of the main reasons why groups act with animosity towards each other is to gain control, and then to formulate specific narratives to demonize the other. Fear is mongered. Genders are depicted as hating and destroying each other. This is happening across the world daily. It is not a true image. It does not reflect the work of all those men and women who, side by side, strive and work to bring hope and peace in a dark, scared and scarred world. God has created men and women, communities and nations to work and benefit each other with blessings. Before God we are all one in Christ and live in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
Father God, we thank you that you have created humans to love and complement each other. You have given us the capacity to appreciate each other’s unique presence and being. Help us not turn on each other, but to view the other as equal and of infinite worth. You created a good earth and blessed humanity and planned for its redemption, Amen.
