For Christian families, there’s an overwhelming importance upon understanding the roles of female and male. However, our culture emphasizes different aspects of these roles from Christianity. In the Christian context, the origin point for this conversation lies at the beginning: the creation of woman and man.
Are men and women equal? Are men and women created equally? What does it mean to be created as a woman and a man? These questions have affected the arc of human history and development of society for quite some time. Our culture seems deeply invested in finding answers to these questions about womanhood. Why though?
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For Christian families, there’s an overwhelming importance upon understanding the roles of female and male. However, our culture emphasizes different aspects of these roles from Christianity. In the Christian context, the origin point for this conversation lies at the beginning: the creation of woman and man.
Our culture often focuses on the importance of women through yearly events such asInternational Women’s Day or Women’s History Month. Yet these celebrations rarely focus on the inherent, original, and biblical worth within womanhood or the creation of woman.
Understanding the need and ability to affirm a young girl’s identity requires an investigation of how women were originally created. From there, we can adequately share, emphasize, and celebrate womanhood with young girls.
The Creation of Woman in the Beginning
Within most discussions involving topics like gender and equality, people reference the opening chapters of Genesis. In the span of a few verses, God creates everything, including humanity. Yet, there’s often limited emphasis upon a collection of details involving the creation of woman.
Genesis 1:26 provides the immediate and complete answer for the question as to the source of our identity. This verse says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…’” From the initial design, God created humanity in His image. But it doesn’t stop there.
In the next chapter, God realizes that something is missing with His creation. Out of everything that He made only one thing was not good. One inconsistency with God’s perfect design. One piece of creation was missing.
Genesis 2:18 says, “Then the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” After the first man had worked in the Garden of Eden for a short time, God quickly proclaims that something is not good with His creation. What is His solution?
Woman.
In God’s sight, the creation of woman solved every problem that had ever existed at this point in history . To God, woman was the answer to what was not good with creation. The foundational reasoning for the creation of woman is to complete that which was incomplete. To be the answer and solution for the problem. The creation of woman fixed what was not good with creation.
Before humanity’s fall and disobedience to God, this inherent problem required the creation of woman. Woman is the completion of God’s perfect design and creation.
The Inarguable Worth of the Creation of Woman
As one of Europe’s most treasured sites, the Sistine Chapel attracts millions of visitors every year.Containing a variety of thematically resonant and important depictions of episodes from the Bible, the Sistine Chapel’s frescoes illustrate the biblical creation narrative.
Standing in the middle of the Sistine Chapel, one immediately sees the central image on the chapel’s ceiling. Perhaps the most famous religious image from Italian sculptor and artist Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam, rests at the center of the creation narrative.
It’s a curious depiction. Reverent and piercing. But there a couple details with relevant implications for the creation of woman and the importance of womanhood.
The main focus is often Adam and the Lord’s connection in the center of the image. However, it’s the female figure underneath God’s left arm that deserves a little bit more attention.
This female figure represents Eve. As Eve looks longingly at Adam, God maintains constant connection with Eve. Even though God creates Adam in this moment, Eve remains closer to God. God’s left arm draped over Eve’s shoulders communicates protection over the first woman. God breathes life into the man, but He comforts and maintains connection with the woman.
Even in the midst of God’s creation of the first man, the subtle emphasis upon the importance of womanhood exists. Following Eve’s creation, the introduction of sin and disobedience immediately marred the relationship between God and His creation. From that moment onward, sin tainted the purity within the creation of woman and man. This impact continues to ripple throughout our culture even today.