A while back, the under shepherd of our little congregation used this picture to emphasize a point he was making. I have been thinking about it ever since. Look at it carefully. It is a picture of a bridge and river. It is real and has not been photoshopped.
In 1998 Hurricane Mitch ravaged Central America. 5,600 people died in the storm and more than 12,300 were injured. Over 150 bridges in Honduras were destroyed but the Choluteca Bridge was engineered and constructed so well it survived intact. The Japanese company that built the Choluteca Bridge was so proud of their workmanship they put a photo of the bridge on their company brochure. The storm was so severe it actually shifted the river, which now flows around the bridge instead of under it. It is a very sturdy bridge to nowhere, without any useful function. A ton of applications could be made, but I will go the way I am led.
For years, I have studied to determine my purpose and function as a woman of YHVH according to Scripture. It is not meant to be disrespectful, although to some it seems that way. I am not trying to be a feminist, although I am often labeled so. It is not my intent to argue or convince anyone. I just want to know the truth. Am I, as a woman of Yah, bound to interpretation of Scripture that cannot sustain itself? Is the call on my life any less important than that of a man? And yet . . . I have often been confined to certain spheres of influence. I don’t mind these at all, but to say that because I am a woman I cannot exercise my influence beyond a specific point is unscriptural, unsupported from Jewish history, and doesn’t fit with Yeshua’s ministry. Contradictions within the very passages used to support this doctrine abound and must be reconciled for YHVH is not the author of confusion.
All ancient literature is read with an understanding of its original context, language, and type. The Scriptures must be read this way as well, if we are to get any kind of understanding of what it is trying to tell us. Lifting sentences or passages out of their defining context to support what it does not say is to violate the intent of the author - in this case - YHVH. Scripture must be read with an understanding of when it was written and what it was addressing for that time if we are to correctly apply it to our lives today.
This is an ongoing issue for me. I will continue to elaborate as I am led and hopefully bring some light into a situation that causes frustration for not only women, but men as well. Will we be the unmoving bridge of doctrine and tenets of faith with limited function as proscribed by tradition OR will we be the River of Life that flows unimpeded according to the will of the Father as He established in His word?
In 1998 Hurricane Mitch ravaged Central America. 5,600 people died in the storm and more than 12,300 were injured. Over 150 bridges in Honduras were destroyed but the Choluteca Bridge was engineered and constructed so well it survived intact. The Japanese company that built the Choluteca Bridge was so proud of their workmanship they put a photo of the bridge on their company brochure. The storm was so severe it actually shifted the river, which now flows around the bridge instead of under it. It is a very sturdy bridge to nowhere, without any useful function. A ton of applications could be made, but I will go the way I am led.
For years, I have studied to determine my purpose and function as a woman of YHVH according to Scripture. It is not meant to be disrespectful, although to some it seems that way. I am not trying to be a feminist, although I am often labeled so. It is not my intent to argue or convince anyone. I just want to know the truth. Am I, as a woman of Yah, bound to interpretation of Scripture that cannot sustain itself? Is the call on my life any less important than that of a man? And yet . . . I have often been confined to certain spheres of influence. I don’t mind these at all, but to say that because I am a woman I cannot exercise my influence beyond a specific point is unscriptural, unsupported from Jewish history, and doesn’t fit with Yeshua’s ministry. Contradictions within the very passages used to support this doctrine abound and must be reconciled for YHVH is not the author of confusion.
All ancient literature is read with an understanding of its original context, language, and type. The Scriptures must be read this way as well, if we are to get any kind of understanding of what it is trying to tell us. Lifting sentences or passages out of their defining context to support what it does not say is to violate the intent of the author - in this case - YHVH. Scripture must be read with an understanding of when it was written and what it was addressing for that time if we are to correctly apply it to our lives today.
This is an ongoing issue for me. I will continue to elaborate as I am led and hopefully bring some light into a situation that causes frustration for not only women, but men as well. Will we be the unmoving bridge of doctrine and tenets of faith with limited function as proscribed by tradition OR will we be the River of Life that flows unimpeded according to the will of the Father as He established in His word?
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