Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study, Sunday, March 7
Minute for Mission: The Lord’s Day
In a book titled The Future for Wo/Men, one of the co-authors, Marchiene Reinstra, writes of a time she was walking on a forest path and came across a sign that read: ―The human race is like a bird trying to fly with one wing. Until women fly alongside men using all their gifts, this bird cannot fly.‖
The image of this bird has drifted into my thoughts, dreams, and prayers ever since I read it. It seems to me that the church has a tremendous opportunity and calling to celebrate and promote the gifts of women, to soar through the world as an example of what it is to be the body of Christ, women and men together pouring forth the gifts of the Spirit. Unfortunately, within the church (as within the human race in general) there has been some resistance to allowing both wings to stretch wide and support the body in mutuality and equality.
As those who are set free by the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, people of the church are called to display the fullness of that life to all. This can only be done with both wings lifted in flight, with the gifts of women celebrated and utilized as fully as the gifts of men. Throughout history we can see the witness of God’s activity in the lives and gifts of women. Today we name and celebrate those gifts, both those that have been acknowledged and promoted and those who have been silenced by resistance. We live in the hope that filled by the Spirit, we will one day soar, bolstered on each side by the gifts God gives to all of God’s children.
—Courtney J. Hoekstra, staff support, Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns, General Assembly Mission Council
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario