It has come to my attention that certain segments of society consider God a misogynist.

I choose not to magnify them but it is obvious who they are. 

They will likely not read this obscure blog, but I am compelled to tell of my personal experiences with this Christian God that some feel hate, dislike, mistrust, or mistreat women.

Let’s start with scripture and then I will move onto a few of my encounters with Him.

Mary Magdalene was the first person to see the risen Jesus outside His empty tomb (see John chapter 20). Verse 18 tells us that Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had spoken these things to her. 

Mary was authorized by the Lord Himself to tell her brethren that Christ was alive and that He wanted them gathered together in Galilee. Jesus broke a cultural gender barrier of that time by deputizing Mary with the authority to speak for Him. Doesn’t come across as a woman-hater to me. 

Then there was the apostle Paul who is often adamantly, yet incorrectly quoted as a proponent of “no women in ministry” via 1 Corinthians 14:34 (women keep silent in the church), was also the man who wrote these words in Colossians 3:11: But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,  and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Paul continues in Galatians 3: 26-28: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

I am firmly convinced by the totality of the holy scriptures (not merely the few quoted here) that women are no longer under the curse of Eve, rather if they have accepted Christ are new creations in Christ Jesus, all things becoming new. Women are free in Christ to choose their role in society, whether as homemakers, mothers, single career women or ministers of the gospel. 

Furthermore, the lives of Deborah the Judge, Hannah, Rebekah, Mary the mother of Jesus, Ruth, Naomi, Lydia, and Phoebe demonstrate the valuable role each played in their respective time. Would their stories be included in the Bible if God were a misogynist? 

For more of these beautiful memes, see this guest post Women Like Me by my friend Rebecca Alpizar. 

Finally, I promised to tell you about my experiences with God as a God of love, not one who despises or mistreats women. I can honestly say that I once hated myself, but never felt as if He despised me. You can find details about that in Chapter 17: Overcoming Self-Reproach in Lion in My Garden: Devotional Activity Journal. 

In looking back, it was after my 1992 divorce that I experienced the love of the Father come to me like a tidal wave. Steeped in self-loathing, disappointment and disillusionment over my shattered dream of a family of children, Abba came to me in the form of two separate prophetic words given by two different people. Both were husband-wife ministerial teams who were not personally acquainted with me. In the first word, they told me I was suicidal but that God planned to remodel my life. It was true and I had told no one. That certainly got my attention! 

The second instance where I received an encouraging word was also in the fall of 1992. This time God addressed the wounds in my heart inflicted by my former husband. The man told me that God knew about them, understood my pain and that I did not deserve such treatment. It had a powerful impact on me because no one was present in our home during those volatile arguments. Only God could have told that pastor such secrets. 

Personal experiences of answered prayer, feeling His nearness, sensing peace especially in the midst of stressful circumstances all work together to build our confidence in His love for us. However, we must choose to accept that God loves us … by faith. After all, we are made in the image of God (Genesis 9:6). 

The triune Godhead I know calls me his fair one (Song of Solomon 1:15). He says that I am His beloved, that I have doves eyes of singular devotion to Him and that I am His friend. He refers to me as His sister, His love and that He rejoices over me with gladness and singing (Zephaniah 3:17). 

My precious Jesus’ grace has made me accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6). Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him (1 John 3:1).

In conclusion, my God is the opposite of a woman-hater. But it boils down to choosing to believe and receive this mindset about God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16). 

My sincere prayer for those who think negatively about God due to those who have misrepresented Him is this: May you encounter the love of God as a wrap-around blanket, hedging you in so that you feel safe and protected by it. May you know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. May your eyes be opened to the incredible depth of love, kindness, grace, and acceptance available to you through Christ Jesus. 

Categories: encouragement God's Love Knowing God Lion in My Garden book excerpt Love Pain Prophecy Women in Scripture

Tagged as: divorce God does not hate women God is love God of love inspiration Kathryne Leach author Lion in My Garden book misogyny personal prophecy religion

Kathryne

Christian author and inspirational speaker of truth that makes the darkness tremble. Author of two non-fiction books at https://linktr.ee/TattooedKing