With our eyes set on glory, let’s take a look at God’s original design.
I had a haunting question about the point of male and female. I really wanted to know the purpose of a female. Was the purpose of a woman just to help the man? This is what I was taught, implicitly or explicitly. We are to have his kids, give him sex, clean his house, be his “helper.” And if that was really the sum total of God’s design then why did it feel like there was an untapped region in my heart? If God is for me, then why would God’s design hurt so much?
I wanted to know what was the original intent of the designer. What was God up to when He made the sexes?
How it is that the church never seemed to read Gal 3:28-29 which says:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Heirs? What promise? The cross reference of verse 29 takes you to Romans 8:
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co‑heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
What on earth does it mean to be co-heirs with Christ? To share in His glory?
As they say, inquiring minds want to know. And I needed to know desperately.
I inquired of the Lord. I begged Him to teach me, show me, reveal to me, help me figure out what He was up to. What was the original intent of the designer?
Please, tell me who I am. What were you thinking, when you thought of me?
What was I to do? All through the Scriptures the Lord tells us to seek Him, search for wisdom, ask for wisdom, look for understanding as if looking for treasure. Jesus said, “knock and it shall be opened to you, ask and it shall be given to you.” (Matthew 7:7-8) So it was no surprise that the Lord began speaking, in lots of places.
It began with the Silence of Adam by Larry Crabb. Then John Eldrige gave beautiful insight in his book Wild at Heart. The Lord used both of these books as pieces of my own puzzle. Eldrige ventured to say that there was more to us than we dared believe. It was water to my parched soul.
Then the Lord brought writings from Watchman Nee . They stirred up a spiritual hornet’s nest, buzzing around all that I had believed about myself and God.
In Romans 3:23 we read ”All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
God’s purpose for man was glory, but sin thwarted that purpose by causing man to miss God’s glory.
When we think of sin, we instinctively think of the judgment it brings; we invariably associate it with condemnation and hell.
Man’s thought is always of the punishment that will come to him if he sins,
But God’s thought is always of the Glory man will miss if he sins.
The result of sin is that we forfeit God’s glory.
The result of redemption is that we are qualified again for glory.
God’s purpose in redemption is
Glory.
Glory.
Glory.
Watchman Nee The Normal Christian Life page 104
Me? Glory? Are you kidding?
The Lord kept bringing truth to my soul. From the Word, from books, from leaders. Then came a pure gift of love. I read Waking the Dead by John Eldridge and prayed a simple prayer.
God I want my heart back, my whole heart.
Excerpt taken from Unhindered, Chapter 38.
Let’s Get Real Here:
How’s your heart? Do you want it back?