We are living in an age where social justice is one of the most important aspects of society. It’s seeped into everything. If you’re interviewing for a new job position, social media posts from 10 years ago can disqualify you for candidacy. Conversely, if a company is not perfectly politically correct or deemed “woke” by mainstream culture, they may struggle to find people to put on their payroll. In schools, kids walk around endlessly barraged by political and social agenda, being led to believe that if they think differently than the mob, they’ll be rejected and hated. Don’t even think about logging onto Facebook without coming across some kind of argument or call to cancel someone else.

Submission. In 2021, that’s an uncomfortable word when it comes to relationships. In a “woke” culture that champions girl-bossing, equality, and feminism, submission feels like a dirty word. A social taboo that culture twists to say, “See? The Bible is an antiquated book. Why would you live by that? It devalues women as the lesser sex! Only a bigoted jerk would still follow it!” And the only reason people can get away with saying that is because the church has done a poor job at explaining the subject of, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”

I've been loving this deep dive into female faith rockstars in the Bible. And although today is going to mark the end of this cool little series, it doesn't mean that these five women are the only ones that showed incredible faith or fit into God's plan of redemption. The point is, these women are all throughout the Bible. There are far more in the Old Testament: Abigail, Esther, Hagar, and Hannah to name a few, and even more in the New Testament. I'd love to get to all of them eventually, but today, I want to spotlight a very important lady who appears in the beginning of the Book of Judges. Her name is Deborah, wife of Lappidoth and a prophetess chosen to be a judge over Israel.

Have you ever been in a place where you honestly believed your sin discounted you from serving God or made you unworthy of salvation? I’m sure we’ve all been there. We’ve all grappled with our worthiness of God’s goodness from deep within the sin that separates us and Him. You think what you did was bad, but have you ever been a lying, deceitful prostitute? We find one in the pages of the book of Joshua; Rahab, a prostitute living in the city of Jericho– yes, THAT Jericho– a city that was one of the biggest bosses that Israel had to defeat before reclaiming the land promised to them by God.

I’ve probably said this before, but Ruth is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Some people disagree. I’ve heard some people pull out some really questionable theology out of this book and completely twist it completely out of context. The truth is, at its heart, the Book of Ruth is a beautiful metaphor of God’s redemptive plan and one woman’s resilience and tenacity.

Tons of people are remembered in the Bible. Some for their bravery, some for their deep faith in God; some for their mistakes, and others for their quick wits. And although the men tend to catch biblical legacy for longer stretches of scripture, there are still countless tales of women that should be remembered for their tenacity to honor God above all else and further His kingdom, even if their stories are brief.

I’ve had a few moments in my life that completely confronted and challenged the Jesus I believe in, but one of the biggest God-questions that I’ve ever faced was towards the end of 2016. I was dating a guy that had some pretty strong views on the Bible– to put it lightly– but the biggest point of contention between the two of us was the role of women in the church.

It’s so important to read our Bibles and know scripture. We all know this, and I know I’ve spent so many weeks and months saying this statement in a multitude of ways, from countless different verses and passages. Yet somehow, it always begs repeating. We need to know God’s word. Yet, we don’t make time. We’re too busy, too inundated, or we don’t even want to try to understand it. What it comes down to is if you’re looking for an excuse to not read it, you will easily find one, and most Christians will give you a pass for it.