International Women’s Day

Who is a woman? What does it mean to be a woman? These kind questions used to be no-brainers, and even if the answers provided were not entirely correct, there were usually no ambiguities in the attempts to put forth answers. In recent times though, this has been a matter of much confusion and controversy.

Some time ago, I wrote about the power and privilege of Nomenclature. It is a double-edged sword that, if not properly wielded, could have dangerous downstream implications. Such is the nomenclature of woman.

[22] And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
[23] And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Genesis 2:22-23 (KJV)

(So if she was called woman because she was taken out of man, what was she before? Well I don’t intend to go that route today.)

However, we will consider this statement: ‘She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man’. This is a very profound statement. Let’s tease out three implications captured therein.

First; She shall be called woman. There is such a thing as being a woman. It is unique. It is an exclusive identity. She can not be called something else. This is the only name that captures her from her origin. We live in times wherein different propositions are being made about what can be defined as Male or female. However, regardless of the different schools of thoughts, ‘she shall be called Woman’.

And this is the divine conclusion:

…and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Genesis 2:19 (KJV)

Second; Because she was taken out of man. Let’s visualize this statement. If she was taken out of man, it means that before now, the initial structure could be seen as an all-in-one construct called Man. However, now she has been taken out of that construct. She is no longer a part of it.

This means when some men say they are women trapped in men bodies, well, she was taken out of man. The woman has been taken out of the man. There is now no woman left in any man. The woman has been taken out of the man. Of course there are shared and overlapping attributes, however the woman in the man has been taken out.

Third; Because she was taken out of man. There is such a refinement, such a delicateness that characterizes a woman. It is almost unbelievable. There is that which a woman is that a man could not be even if he tried to, because it has been taken away from him.

A woman isn’t the opposite of a man. She isn’t his competitor in life. She is the expression of that which would have otherwise remained hidden, so that in a poetic way, when a man sees a woman, he sees that which he ought to have; a certain grace, a certain beauty and comportment, a certain tenderness and largeness of heart.

The woman isn’t simply complementing and completing the man. God in the formation of the woman was bringing to light a mystery that would have forever remained hidden. She was always there, but in the darkness of obscurity, until the world felt unaided without her. In the formation of a woman, God taught man a valuable lesson: that help comes when God brings the woman out of him.

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Romans 1:20 (KJV)

Women are not to be suppressed, repressed or oppressed. On the contrary, men must understand that they are instrumental in the ‘bringing forth’ of the woman.

To the Men – Fathers, Husbands, Brothers and Sons under God, allow yourselves to be raw materials for the bringing forth of the women in your lives, and you will find that through them, there will come about great help, great capacity and productivity.

Happy International Women’s Day to the Mystery to God brought to light.