Submission
The Sacrifice of Long-suffering Christian Women
679 words long.
Published on 2024-03-24
When a Christian suffers but holds onto their faith, God endows them with spiritual power. So it has been with women.
In my books I share the story of Janet Sullivan. Pastor Larry urged the congregation to visit an ailing church member who lived in a nursing facility. I had suffered for a decade from depression so I was determined not to visit her. Didn't I have enough problems of my own? After numerous appeals from the pulpit, I relented. It seems that she lived a block from my apartment in Somerville. Nobody else in the church lived anywhere near her. I was her neighbor. So one morning, on my way to church, I visited her, gave her a cassette of Christian music, prayed for her and read to her from the Bible. I was there maybe fifteen minutes. After I left, I began to sob. I had never seen anyone in such pain. I never before cried so hard for somebody besides myself. Then after a half hour of walking, as I reached the BU Bridge, a miracle. My soul was flooded with joy. It stayed for a week. I doubt that any day this side of heaven will I ever experience so much joy again. After meeting Janet, I was permanently delivered from my depression.
Six months later, Janet Sullivan died. At her funeral, another mourner said something with which we all agreed.
"When you were with Janet it was like
the Holy Spirit was pouring out of her."
The best analogy that I can think of is how the breaking of a jar of perfume fills the whole house with fragrance. That was Janet. Even near death, she shared her faith with visiting family, friends and strangers. She never let go of God and He never let go of her. Apart from the person who led me to Christ, no one has had as big an impact on my life as a frail woman with rheumatoid arthritis with only months left to live.
Her suffering produced a harvest of righteousness. Her suffering came to an end. How many women down the centuries have held onto their faith in Jesus, suffered and died? Shall their collective suffering not eventually complete the sacrifice for their daughter's ceremony of ordination? Has it not been reached already?
Before modern times, few things terrified women more than childbirth. As noted earlier, one in eight women died bearing children. It is with good reason that Paul used that allusion in his letter to Timothy.
But she will be saved by The Childbearing,
if they continue in faith
and love
and holiness
with sound-mindedness.
- 1 Timothy 2:15 YLT (Young’s Literal Translation)
The construction is peculiar. It is not "childbearing" but "The Childbearing". This speaks of a special event.
- It is not the birth of Jesus, as that was already in the past, and this event was in the future.
- It is also not a reference to normal childbirth, as "she" will be saved by what "they" do. The ones having the child are a "they", a group of women.
- The references to faith, love, holiness and sound-mindedness as well as the ordeal of bearing a child speak of a sacrifice.
My interpretation (in part) is as follows:
- Christian Women were instructed to make great sacrifices for the faith.
- This would prepare them and the church for an event called The Childbearing.
- The event would save later women from the trials the earlier women once endured and the oppression they once suffered.
- This sacrifice would be a sacrifice of ordination, qualifying women to serve as pastors and elders.
So what is The Childbearing?
When did it happen?
Where in the Bible is it hidden?
Let’s back up and consider the varieties of ordination for service...
NEXT: Consecration: Models of Ordination
