A Closer Look in the Mirror

Sometimes a closer look in the mirror can cause a woman to wonder, “What does it really mean to be created in the image of God?”

Body-consciousness has gripped America. Maintaining a youthful appearance has caused the plastic surgery industry to explode. Magazine and TV ads promote the perfect woman. Incentives are given to employees for achieving the appropriate weight. Body shaming is a motivation for body perfection. Americans consuming pastime is their physical appearance. So they overlook the importance of being created in God’s image. Understanding that we are made in the image of God is vital to healthy God-centered self-esteem. Women view themselves as the inferior gender because they are called the “helper” to man, or are told, “the woman was deceived.” Women often misplace their identity; their importance is not based on their role as wives or mothers. A women’s identity and purpose are occasionally focused on the wrong man; their identity should be on the man Jesus Christ. Women have value because God created them in His image, not on the roles they fill. Women’s roles will change many times over in their lifetime; their title could be daughter, wife, mother, but their identity in Christ will never change.

Women are not insignificant or an afterthought. Elise Fitzpatrick explains, when God created women, He did so because man needed a helper. God realized that there was no suitable helper for man, so God created woman. (Genesis 2:20). The word “helper” is translated from the Hebrew word “êz·rā.” Êz·ra means of help, support, military aid, a necessary helper. Êz·ra does not mean the helper is inferior. God created women to fill a need that Adam had. Êz·ra does not signal a deficiency or weakness in the helper (woman); it signals the need or lack is in Adam (man). In the book of Psalms 40:17, 6:1, 55:4, 63:7, the “helper or êz·rā” is used to refer to God. Clearly, God is not an inferior helper to mankind in these passages. The role of women is of vital importance to God and has great value to mankind.

The serpent deceived Eve in The Fall. However, Adam disobeyed. When the Apostle Paul refers to The Fall, he talks about it as if it came from Adam. (I Corinthians 15:22). Eve does not deceive or seduce Adam. Adam entered into disobedience on his own. It is just as possible for a man to be deceived as a woman is. God responds by cursing the serpent and the ground but does not condemn man or woman. Silencing of the voices of God’s daughters does not come from God. Women are not insignificant or an afterthought. They are essential and crucial to God’s redemptive plan. The church needs to help women know who they are in Christ and help them take their place in the kingdom of God. So ladies, take a closer look in the mirror and become all that God created you to be!