TO HUSBANDS AND TO WIVES
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We live in a very strange world. It is world that says men and women are the same. In fact they are so much the same, that a man can decide he is a woman, or a woman can decide she is a man, and everyone around that individual is supposed to act like this is just the way things are. It is asserted that men and women are completely interchangeable, and so marriage can occur between a man and a woman or between two men or between two women.
The basic idea that men and women are the same has been a focus of feminism in our culture. However, reality has a nagging way of not cooperating. The armed forces have been under tremendous pressure to admit women into infantry combat units and special forces. The problem is that men and women are not the same. Men are physically stronger. Women have continually been unable to meet the physical standards required by these combat units.
Men and women are different. My children know it. When they do not feel good or are hurt, they go to Amy. And this is not just because she is a Nurse Practitioner. Instead, when it comes to nurturing and comforting, moms are better at it than dads. Men and women are different.
Men and woman are different because we were created to be different. God created Adam. And then he said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will create a helper corresponding to him.” Now it is clear from these words that man needs woman. And it is also certain that they are not the same, because the woman corresponds to the man in the ways needed to serve as a helper to him. And the ultimate proof that they are not the same is that the one flesh union of man and woman is necessary to produce the outcome of marriage—a child. God’s Word describes an ordering to the creation of man and woman; husband and wife. St. Paul states it very clearly in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 when he says, “For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.” Woman was created from man. Woman was created for man, as the helper corresponding to him; the one without whom things are not very good. The world may not like to hear this, but Christ’s apostle says that this is a fact grounded in creation itself.
The Rev. Mark Surburg is pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Marion, Ill.
Be Informed
Scott Klusendorf of Life Training Institute helps you clarify and articulate the pro-life message.
Be Equipped
The proof exists: “When both parents take their children to church and are active in teaching their children about the Christian faith, their children tend to hold onto that faith when they grow up.” Learn more about the study here.
Be Encouraged
“This is the freedom found in Christ: restoration to the divine community. The Holy Spirit is sent to guide us through the Son back to the Father. When we are baptized into God’s name (“Father, Son and Holy Spirit”) we are adopted into the heavenly family, along with all of the other saints. No longer independent. No longer self-determining or autonomous. Because of grace, we were then, and remain now, under God.” –Deaconess Rosie Adle
