As Christians, we hold to the truth that all people are created in the image of God—both male and female. Today, in some countries, women are oppressed and devalued, but just as Christ upheld the dignity of women during his ministry on earth, we have an opportunity to let others know their worth in Him.
Women in ancient culture were vulnerable and mistreated. In a patriarchal society, the prayers of Jewish men included a prayer of thanksgiving, “Praised be God that he has not created me a woman.” Some Jewish writers taught that women should never leave the home, except to go to the synagogue.
Jesus’s treatment of women was countercultural. In one of the most remarkable stories in the Gospels, we see Jesus tenderly interact with the woman at the well. Not only was He speaking with a woman in public, she was also a Samaritan. Cultural protocol dictated that Samaritans and Jews didn’t interact, much less a Jewish man interacting with a Samaritan woman. Scripture doesn’t name the woman, but it doesn’t have to, because Jesus did something more important. The Samaritan woman came to the well in the middle of the day, when she thought no one would notice her drawing water. She was an outcast of society, shamed for her promiscuous behavior, yet in her conversation with Jesus, He treats her with kindness and interacts with her honestly. He doesn’t shy away from addressing her sin, but offers her living water.
Today, you can bring Jesus’s living water to vulnerable women across the world through radio and online messages. For many of these female listeners, Guidelines programming has become their church community—their only source to a Christian family. Many are the first in their families to receive the gospel message, becoming a beacon of hope for where they live.
Just as Jesus ministered to the mistreated and vulnerable, we too have the same opportunity today. Whether it is a widow seeking comfort or a victim of violence seeking hope, you can deliver the gospel message to a hurting world.