Dr. Hagar wrote As Jesus Cared for Women and through that book he really flushed out some lies in my belief system. It was so refreshing to read the heart of a man who saw that Jesus didn’t look down on women. He loved them, restored them, elevated them, honored them, listened to them. Jesus didn’t try to put them in boxes. Jesus wanted them to be free.

He didn’t die so that they might be discounted and discredited as the weaker sex. He died to release them from the curse, from spending all their energy running after a man or from being ruled by one. He died so His women would be free to love Him, fully.

Have you ever considered how Jesus radically rocked the world in His treatment of women?

–The adulteress He forgave. But He looked down at the ground, instead of cruising her.

–The Samaritan woman He asked for water. He asked of her. That in itself was a gift, to interact with her as a capable equal rather than someone to be shunned. He offered her abundance instead of judgment.

–To the sinner who washed His feet with her hair, He defended her devotion in public and declared that what she had done for Him would be told for all eternity.

– To Martha, He first revealed that He was the Resurrection

–To Mary, He first appeared as the Risen Lord.

Is it possible that Jesus forgot that women were property? Forgot that the weaker sex was to stay behind a man?

Or did Jesus purposely turn the male order on its ear? Did Jesus clearly become the only man she was to stand behind? Her one true spiritual leader.

We have a Spiritual Leader. His name is Jesus. And He is really great at His job.

Of all the things a man can and should be, and all the things a woman can and should be, why put on labels and pressures that we were never meant to carry?

Perhaps this side of the cross, the woman and the man are to again co-rule as co-heirs. They are to stand side by side, arm in arm, under the banner, authority and love of Jesus Christ. Just as He said that the “two became one flesh and to let no man tear it apart,” this hope of oneness lies in the power of Christ working through each face of His image.  This union is about a God-created intimacy where both bring all they have to the table, male and female, and as one under Christ they live life and serve and further God’s kingdom.

Do you see that when we as man and woman both live in our original intent, with our definition and desire met in our maker, then there is a supernatural harmony in relationship? Instead of bossing or clawing, we are both restored to walk together in our journeys with God.

Excerpt taken from Unhindered, Chapter 40

Let’s Get Real Here:

What would change in your life if Jesus was your spiritual leader?  Does it change the way you think of yourself to see how Jesus valued women?