By Macy Froetschner
This year I had the opportunity to attend the March for Life and Y4Life Conference in Washington, D.C. This was my first time attending both, and I came away from the experience with a lot of great insights. Among these insights were new perspectives regarding the various gender roles in our society. Friday night, following the March for Life, Y4Life hosted a panel of experts who spoke on this topic. Overall, their message demonstrated how society is upheld by the distinct blessings of masculinity and femininity.
Men and women are different. The creation account in Genesis presents a pattern of God speaking something into existence and then calling it good. This pattern differs when God creates man. Genesis 2:18, ESV, reads, “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” The aloneness of Adam is the only part of creation that God qualifies as not good. Also notable in this passage is the phrase, “a helper fit for him.” God did not seek to craft a mere companion for Adam, but rather a helper. This word helper implies woman has complimentary differences to that of man. God created male and female to be different so that when they become united, they are no longer alone. In fact, in marriage, they experience a oneness that connects them completely and enables them to bring life into the world.
American society is becoming increasingly more ambiguous regarding the distinctions of male and female. Instead, children are taught their gender is a spectrum, women’s unique and beautiful task of pregnancy has been appropriated by the transgender movement, and men are scorned for their innate strength and leadership. The consequences of denying God’s good work through male and female are confusion and instability. Society resides on a foundation of uncertainty that is bound to crumble. Without embracing the strength of men, communities are prone to attack. Without uplifting the emotional intelligence of women, those in need of mercy are forgotten and dejected. This does not mean that women cannot be strong, or men cannot tend to the needy, but overall, the biological differences of men and women make them more prone to these respective tasks.
The relationship that God created between man and woman in the garden needs to extend beyond the bond of marriage. Men can be a force of fortitude for all women, not just their wives. Women can support and graciously accept the strength of all men, not just their husbands. God does not desire the unique gifts of either gender to become absorbed or lost. The loss of one gender would again result in a creation that was, “not good.” Instead, society needs the beauty of motherhood and fatherhood. It needs the diversity of masculinity and femininity. These roles aren’t determined by the world’s standards, but rather what Scripture tells us these roles are.
God’s good creation isn’t subject to change; your maleness or femaleness isn’t altered based on the passing trends of this world. Instead, it’s designed to withstand and endure as the Word of God has. We Christians have this beautiful message to share: Your body is a good gift, a gift designed for you and for life-affirming service to others. Your body, despite its brokenness, has been created and redeemed by Christ!