HEALING SALVE

                                               HEALING SALVE

    This may be a strange title for a Mother's Day message, but there are far too many women in the world who need healing salve for the 
continuing tribulation placed on them simply because of their gender.
The problem in America is no longer tolerable, but it is minute  compared to the world wide situation. We have designated a special day to honor mothers, but like so many other holidays, the warm, fuzzy feeling frequently doesn't carry over for long. Before I continue, I wish every woman--mother or not--a special day and the appreciation you deserve for being you. All of you aren't perfect, but we expect  much more than we should. 

    Let's look at scripture to see the history of women and how  shamefully they've been used. We start right out in Genesis, where God punished Eve for listening to a snake fronting for the Devil. If you somehow (?) missed it, you'll find it in Genesis, chapter 3. Adam also received punishment, but still came out ahead. Eve was placed under man's rule. More about that in a bit, but first we see the short and long term of Adam's punishment. He became the downfall of all future humans because the seed of evil was placed in him. Because he got to be Eve's ruler, it seemed like a type of reward. After all, other humans can't visually see his imperfection. The curse on Adam became  apparent when the first children were born.

    Cain embodied the curse of the future of man in the character flaws
of ego, pride, and disobedience. Did you ever take notice that men who
achieve success frequently worry about their legacy? They want to have
a son to carry on their greatness and to assure themselves that people
will never forget how great they were. Few women receive these legacy
tributes. Worse yet, Christian men lead the way in making certain women are subservient to men. They always go back to the scripture in Genesis.
Nearly every culture and race in the world follows this creed, placing
women in a sort of state of bond servant. In many cultures, women are
valued as though they were cattle or sheep. I'm not addressing the
treatment here of women in other cultures, but rather the women in
Christianity. 

    If you are a Christian man, you are REQUIRED to follow the teaching of
your Savior. I'm not talking about SOME REQUIREMENTS, but all the items
Christ outlined in the four gospels. I hear preachers support the majesty
of being a man through the above given passages of Genesis. Apparently
they only know the Old Testament directions and then fall back on their
subservient women rule by quoting Matt. 5:17. This passage spoken by
Christ, tells us, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law of the 
Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill." When you fulfill
something, you make any necessary changes and complete a finished
product. Christ came to COMPLETE God's Word, giving us instructions
not just for the Israelites, but for all humanity. What other religions do is
their business, not ours, unless they do us harm. Remember scripture
tells us to "love our enemies?" (Matt. 5:44) Christian men need to 
explore ALL of scripture instead of just picking out passages to glorify
themselves. Let's go back to the original Genesis verses about men
ruling women. If we're going to follow these verses verbatim, we also
must follow other directions of the Old Testament given in Leviticus.

    Go to Leviticus 20:10. If Genesis chapter 3 is God's rule we MUST
follow, then Lev. 20:10 also must be followed. No picking and choosing
allowed with God's instructions, and no consideration for anything
Christ had to say, except, maybe that you can be saved by FOLLOWING
Him. Lev. 20:10 tells us, "The man who commits adultery with another
man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the
adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." In many
foreign countries, women are killed even if suspected of adultery.
Men, never. Christian men--including pastors--divorce their wives,
have sweetie pies, and simply tell people they've been bad boys, but
repented and things are okay with God again. Wives and sweetie pies
are shunned. The men aren't stoned, but shame and shunning of
women is another kind of death. Let's look at some more Old Testament
rules. Lev. 20:9 directs, "For everyone who curses his father or his
mother shall surely be put to death."

    Now, Christian men (and women), are you ignoring Christ's rules and
giving up the grace, mercy and promise of salvation through Christ's
shed blood? If you follow the rules of Genesis and Leviticus, you are
NOT a Christian. You are reverting to the laws of Israel, and are
therefore a sham Jew. Your acceptance of Christ's offer of salvation
is not sincere because you are not following His instructions. He tells 
us in Eph. 5:28, "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their
own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself." Christian men, you
tend to love your "great intellect of scripture and leadership" far more
than anything else. If women are held accountable for abortion, why
aren't men held accountable for the impregnation? You see how all
these issues are tied together in a neat package basically absolving
men from responsibility. 

    I hear Christian men say women have never held leadership positions
in the church, and it's not scriptural for them to serve. For you Old
Testament believers, think of Miriam, Moses's sister and a priestess,
Deborah (Judges, chapters 4 and 5, and, in the New Testament, see
Acts 16:13-15. Note the people who attended to Jesus after His
crucifixion were ALL women. Where were the brave (?) men? There
are many more examples of women's leadership roles, and don't be
put off by Paul's directions in 1 Tim.2:11-15, nor overlook 1 Tim. 
3:1-13, which sets rules for Christian men. Paul's directions were
for general purposes and addressed local culture and carnal practices.
Men have always ruled, and women could rarely successfully lead
a new enterprise, especially a religious one. Remember, it wasn't safe
for women to travel alone, nor men either. Christ sent the disciples
out by twos or threes. Modern society hasn't improved that much.

    I'm not done with thrashing men, especially Christian men. They
want full control over women--not just leadership. They preach and
pass civil (and criminal) laws to control every facet of a woman's
life. If Christian (?) men could understand the difference between
rule and control, they would ask themselves who in mankind can
enforce God's rules for them. Oh, yes...they police themselves. Good
job, pal, wink, wink. I'm not condemning all Christian men, but those
who enjoy a free pass to being a sub-god. For example, the ones
who campaign for political office who want to require a criminal
investigation when a woman miscarries or when a woman with
severe health problems actually REQUIRES an abortion. How about
a law to castrate men who father unwanted children? How about
punishing the Christian politicians who have had more than one
wife with an ex still living?

    Men often label women as gold diggers. What do they call men
who abandon partners? A smart guy who knows the system. I hope
I've made a point here for mothers and future mothers. All women
aren't perfect, but they usually come closer than men. Christian
men recognize Mary, the mother of our Lord, but that respect for
her gender does not carry much further. Men, think carefully about
this: a human woman was good enough to mother Christ. A human
man was not good enough to father our Lord. and, you think you
are a superior gender?

    Now for the appreciation that should be shown for mothers and
women in general. Behind most great or accomplished men of any
stature usually stands a woman. When they love and respect their
husband, he has an army of God-fearing soldiers who follow him
through the valley described in Psalms 23. They bear his children,
work outside and inside the home, and share his triumphs and
defeats. Husbands sometimes lack sensitivity and don't understand
the importance of events such as birthdays or anniversaries. My
parents opened our country store on Christmas morning because
we knew there were husbands in our rural area who worked hard
and forgot important dates in their wives' lives. They were contrite
and thankful that we were there, because there was no where else
for them to get their wife a gift, and they usually couldn't afford
much. We didn't carry expensive stuff, knowing this. They were
so relieved finding something they could afford. I'm sure their
wives were happy just being remembered, although the gift may
only be an apron. Some years, seeing the happy relief on the
husband's face and knowing the appreciation the wife would
show after being remembered, was our best gift of the season.

    Good wives nurture good daughters, and I've been blessed with
both. As I've said previously, I've been blessed with both and they
saved my physical life. That enabled Faith Walk Ministry to continue
to serve the Lord. We salute you mothers--Christian or not--because
you are fulfilling the role of mother of the human race. God bless.

Rev. Walbear