The Feminine Imago Dei
As I continue to dig into what Biblical womanhood really means, I am struck by some of the more subtle feminine images that are sprinkled throughout God's Word. While not typically the focus of our early Bible education, there is actually much to be gleaned about the identity of women from the stories of scripture.
In her book, Wearing God, Lauren F. Winner details several lesser known images that God uses to describe himself. Chapter by chapter reads like a thoughtful devotional, asking us to ponder facets of an unsearchable God that we may not have considered before. She begins with a short note about the gender terminology we use for God—why do we alway refer to God as "He"?
Carolyn Custis James (author of Half the Church, which I recently reviewed here), writes in her book on manhood, Malestrom, that there are some powerful cultural reasons for God to figure himself as male. The more I learn about the context of patriarchy in the Bible, the richer my experience with God as Father becomes, the deeper my perspective on gender in history and today.
"It is...profoundly important for women that Jesus was male. His maleness was integral to the completion of his redemptive task, for it facilitated his ability to expose 'the radical difference between God's ideal and the social structures of his day'" (James 177).
God created gender as part of the structure in which he reveals himself to us. Genesis tells us that God figured mankind in the image of the trinity—"in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (1:27).
Admittedly, how gender plays out to reflect God is about as big of a mystery to me as trying to explain the trinity itself, and thus has become a topic of much fascination. What is actually unique about being a woman? And how exactly does God intend for men and women to reflect His nature in a more profound way than one gender could do on its own? I have read and been taught much about womanhood, but not all the pieces fit together well. And the more I learn, the more questions I have. I'll be writing about my research on this topic, doing my best to sift out misguided theology and cultural ideals to uphold a high view of scripture. All the while, I trust God when He promises that "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him" (James 1:5).
For now, I'll leave you with my favorite analogy from Winner's book, that of God as a laboring woman found in Isaiah:
"For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant" (42:14).
As I reflect on my own labors, the stories of other women, and all that I've learned about childbirth in general, this analogy speaks rather profoundly about God's strength and power and His willingness to pay a profound price to redeem His people. In turn, the image of God as a laboring woman challenges my perception of how women reflect the Imago Dei:
"If our picture of strength is a laboring woman, then strength is not about refusing to cry or denying pain. Strength is not about being in charge, or being independent, or being dignified. If our picture of strength is a laboring woman, then strength entails enduring, receiving help and support, being open to pain and risk. If our picture of strength is a laboring woman, strength entails entrusting yourself (to medicine, or to the wisdom of your own body, or to the guidance of someone who is there in the room with you). Strength even entails giving yourself over to the possibility of death" (Winner 151-152).
I had never thought about how the risks associated with labor drew a parallel to Jesus, who indeed did give His body completely over to death, so that through Him, we might be birthed into new life.
What about you? What analogies or names of God speak profoundly to you in this season of life?