“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”
-Psalm 33:5
People are longing for peace and justice. The women whose stories are in these pages followed the Lord Jesus Christ in his way of compassion and justice for the world. The Gospel message is better presented when Christians match their actions to their words in acts of mercy and love. These women pursued a God of peace and justice who respects all persons, especially the lowly, the weak, the forgotten, the marginalized, and the poor.
Lasting peace comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. True justice comes from God. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1-2). Justified women and men who have the peace, comfort, and assurance of God’s forgiveness have the privilege and the responsibility to advance true justice as they spread the gospel of peace in word and deed. From Shiphrah and Puah to Dorothy Day, the women in these stories are a shining example for Christ’s followers who have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to take the message of hope to a lost world.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with hour God.” (Micah 6:8)
Meditation on Equal Opportunity
Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.
Meditations with Mary March 14, 2023
Last week we watched “My Fair Lady” (Released in 1964). I’ve seen it many times, but the music is so wonderful that it is worth watching again and again. For those not familiar with the movie, it is based on George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, written in 1913. The story is about how Professor Henry Higgins, who is a language expert, teaches Eliza Doolittle, a cockney, how to speak better so that she may pass as a lady. The movie focuses on Eliza’s transformation from a grimy lower-class woman with a harsh cockney accent to a beautifully turned-out lady with high-class speech and manners. She falls in love with Henry, and Henry “growing accustomed to her face” falls in love with her for a happy ending.
I couldn’t help reflecting afterwards that there is another important theme in the story. It was brought out when Henry persuaded Eliza to let him train her by telling her that with her new high-class speech, she could get a better job and look forward to a better position in life. Eliza is attracted to the idea of working in a flower shop rather than just selling flowers on the street, so she agrees to work with Henry. In the end of course, she doesn’t go to work; she gets married. But the point I am making is that with education more opportunities will be open for the disadvantaged.
Up until only a few decades ago, black women and men were denied equitable educational opportunities. It was assumed for so long that they weren’t intelligent enough or capable enough to attend schools of higher learning. Thankfully, that has begun to change. We still have a long way to go to provide complete equal opportunity for African Americans especially women or poor.
That is why I have been writing for the last 14 months about “Black Women in America”, focusing on black American female “firsts”. We have talked about outstanding black women in education, artists, scientists, inventors, doctors and nurses, and extraordinary black athletes. Brave African American women withstood the humiliation of stereotyping in the entertainment industry so that white Americans could see that black Americans are not fundamentally different from them.
These last several months we have covered the stories of African American activists including Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, and Reverend Addie Wyatt. Last week we discovered that even an eighty-year-old woman can have a huge impact on the world! What a remarkable woman Mary Church Terrell was. In the next few weeks we will cover the stories of more black female activists. Along the way I will send you book and movie reviews that you will enjoy as well.
Many of these women have been forgotten. I am happy to bring the stories of their lives back for us to appreciate. Why do you suppose so many of these women have been overlooked or completely forgotten? Please join in the discussion with comments on the stories on the website. Thank you for reading my meditations and God bless you.
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“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”
-Psalm 33:5
People are longing for peace and justice. The women whose stories are in these pages followed the Lord Jesus Christ in his way of compassion and justice for the world. The Gospel message is better presented when Christians match their actions to their words in acts of mercy and love. These women pursued a God of peace and justice who respects all persons, especially the lowly, the weak, the forgotten, the marginalized, and the poor.
Lasting peace comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. True justice comes from God. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1-2). Justified women and men who have the peace, comfort, and assurance of God’s forgiveness have the privilege and the responsibility to advance true justice as they spread the gospel of peace in word and deed. From Shiphrah and Puah to Dorothy Day, the women in these stories are a shining example for Christ’s followers who have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to take the message of hope to a lost world.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with hour God.” (Micah 6:8)
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The women gathered in “Women of Faith and Courage” by Mary Walker are not included merely to inspire for a moment. Their stories carry biblical, historical, and spiritual weight. Each life adds something essential to the wider testimony of faith, reminding readers that Christian history is fuller, more textured, and more instructive when women are remembered with honesty and depth.
That is why the title resonates beyond simple encouragement. It offers recovery rather than novelty, substance rather than sentiment. “Women of Faith and Courage” by Mary Walker is especially well suited for readers who sense that important voices have been minimized and who want to engage stories that restore perspective, memory, and meaning.
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During its two-thousand-year history, the Christian faith has been influenced and passed down by faithful women. The women whose stories are in these pages were martyrs and nuns, mystics and scholars, writers and reformers, preachers and missionaries, abolitionists, and evangelists. These women are examples to us of faith, perseverance, forgiveness, fortitude, and truth and righteousness.
In this book, we will recount the stories of many women from the Early Church to today who sought to follow their callings to serve in God’s kingdom. There are very important reasons for learning about the lives of the female saints beyond giving them the recognition that they deserve for their achievements. We can learn much from the stories of the lives of the women in this book. Women and men are heirs to the promise and have a joint responsibility to practice truth and righteousness and to take the gospel to the lost (Galatians 3:26-29). These dedicated women faced many barriers and confronted many obstacles in their paths as they sought to serve Christ. They did not seek God’s truth and righteousness for themselves but for God’s glory.
“For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” (Psalms 33:4-5).
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