Worship Him

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (Jno.4:24)

My daughter, Leah, once told me that one hair-brained theory of why women sometimes allow themselves to be abused by men is the prevailing (and by implication, false) belief that God is a man. Evidently, if God can only be emasculated, men will lose all their assumed authority. While abuse of any kind is reprehensible, laying the blame anywhere except on the individual involved is ludicrous. Of course, the whole idea smacks of Feminism, a movement (like some others) that seeks to acquire real (or assumed) rights by taking someone else’s. Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad for the right to vote in an election, to find employment if I am forced or care to, and to be able to anticipate comparable pay for comparable work. But what is it about (supposed) equality that makes superiority look so inviting. And in this case, gender equality has made its way to God Himself.

As we know, God is always referred to in the masculine gender in the Bible. And, obviously, if God had been a woman, when He “became flesh and dwelt among us,” Mary would have given birth to a baby girl. I’m pointing out this absurdity because more is involved here than just rights and recognition. As verses such as the one cited in John make clear, if you’re going to worship God, you’re going to have to worship a “Him.” There’s no ambiguity or compromise here.

There is something within all of us that longs to be a god unto ourselves. It’s called the Adamic nature, but it was Eve who first took the bait (“…ye shall be as gods…” Gen.3:5). It’s a short jump from “We’re as good as men” to “We’re as good as God.” But, truth be told, all of us—men or women—are only as good as our willingness to fulfill the role God has given us to play in His great plan. Besides, no man in a living relationship with God will ever abuse or demean a woman. On the contrary, he will honor, cherish, and if need be, lay down his own life for her, as Christ did for His Bride. And mark it well: “[H]e that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb.11:6).

 End of discussion.