When we get to heaven, God is not going to ask, “What was your I.Q.?” or “What was your grade point average? …Ok, well, come on in!” or “How many books did you read (or write)? Well done!” He didn’t save me to make me an “egalitarian” or a “complementarian”….He saved me for Him. At the foot of the cross, NOTHING matters except Jesus. We can only boast in our weaknesses, so that He may get all of the glory. He chooses weak vessels—He cannot be glorified from vessels who think highly of themselves and see themselves as capable. He uses people who see themselves as needy and weak. There is strength in meekness and strength in any woman who chooses humility in the home. Women should be admired for this and not derided as “weak.”
When I am around my sweet, little nephews (ages three and five) the attention is on them. I turn the computer off and take an interest in these little children and delight as they recite their Bible verses to me and tell me all they are learning about the planets and our solar system. I see their art, and we sing songs together. I listen to them tell me all they are learning in home school. I want to go to soccer games, to see my little nephew, Luke, play. Otherwise, I am sure I would have no interest in soccer. The point is that children inspire me and convict me to invest my time in their lives in a selfless way if I am going to love them and know them intimately. Though I have never been married, I realize when I am with my nephews and little niece (a one year old) there is no higher calling than to be a wife and mother.
My grandmother was in the hospital recently, and I noticed that she was too nervous to cut her food. I said, “Here, I will do it for you.” I cut her potatoes and thought to myself, “There are so many things I need to be doing with my time! This is mundane!” Immediately, I felt convicted. God has not called me to a “ministry” or to a “cause”, but He has called me to Himself. I am called to be a servant and that means whatever He wants. I have to be willing. Why would I not be willing if I am truly saved? The next day I returned to the hospital prepared to cut up more vegetables for my grandmother and feed her small bites with a little more alacrity, because I felt it was what God wanted me to do as a servant, and I realized that service is close to His heart.
The question is: If God asked an egalitarian “Christian” feminist to “submit” to her husband, would she be willing to obey? I would think the answer to God would be a resounding, “Yes!” Because if she would not be willing to do anything for God, and if she is getting her sense of belonging in her ambition, how does she know she is saved? Our ambition is to be pleasing to God as His people. He is our ambition. When our lives are over as Christian women, we should all be remembered as humble servants. It doesn’t matter how much biblical knowledge we have gleamed if we cannot be known for our humility. Giving selflessly of our time to children and to a husband is good medicine (as my grandmother says) for keeping a humble heart, and it is an antidote against the post-Christian, postmodern mindset of American culture. And it is work to be praised.
Like all women, Christian feminist women have many gifts. But those gifts are nothing at the foot of the cross. (Sometimes these women come across as if they think of themselves as more gifted than others, as if they see themselves as more intelligent. It is very unbecoming, but is prevalent in self-proclaimed “Christian” feminists such as Mary Daly, who is now a self-proclaimed goddess worshipper! A little bit of this attitude goes a long way…sadly, in a direction away from the cross).
Our depravity has to be something very real to us. We will see that our gifts of attractiveness, articulation, enthusiasm, intellect, drive, ambition, plans, creativity… mean nothing–absolutely nothing–at the foot of the cross. We are to be poured out vessels of honor, and it only happens one way—it takes a lot of dying. Once we submit to God in this, He can take our lives and live through us by His Spirit. But we have to learn to love the word “submission”, for it is not an option for a Christian.
There is a book by Richard Baxter called The Saints Everlasting Rest, and it says that we will never be at rest until we get to heaven. There is always a battle to fight and a burden to bear. We need to pray for our families and give of ourselves sacrificially, as this brings honor to God. And we need to be a faithful witness in this proud world of ours for Jesus through a humble testimony of what it means to be a woman of true wisdom, not the haughty wisdom of the feminist “spirit of Sophia”. Whether it is Christian feminism or pagan feminism, sadly, the same spirit is at work.
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In the Spirit we long to embrace,
Dwayna
