Monday, July 9, 2012

Faith #2 - Different Genders, Different Styles of Faith

1) Exploring different variations of faith

Most men are cerebral. They are the sum of their thoughts. Faith for men starts in their brain. At some point, their confession of faith eventually drops into their heart, where faith becomes reality. Until the Spirit apprehends their heart, displays of emotion make men feel uncomfortable, even threatened, by their emotional female counterparts.

Most women are emotional. We are the sum of our feelings. So, faith is a feeling for us. My brother asked me once, “How did you know there was a (spiritual) barrier there?” I replied, “I felt it”. Every moment, of every day, feelings are who we are—and sometimes get us into trouble if we do not apply the fruit of self-control. Until our men can accept our feelings on the same level as they accept their thoughts, we’ll have to look to another Man for emotional support, Jesus. He felt sorrow. He wept. He agonized in the Garden. He felt abandoned by the One upon whom he had come to trust. So, who better to understand and empathize with us than the person we call Lord and Savior?

God does not make mistakes. We are created to be both rational and emotional human beings. Truly we are meant to embrace both areas of our human nature? That is, until we accept, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ” (Gal. 3:28 NIV). To be “one” takes another leap of faith for both genders.

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