By AARON CHARLES
For Word New
MIAMI (WordNews.org) March 20, 2012 – Author Ruth Vander Zee said God’s interaction in her life led her to study women in the Bible.
The result is the book “Woman Meets Jesus: How Jesus Encourages, Empowers, and Equips Women on Their Personal Journey of Faiths.”
She also was passionate about helping other women who needed healing from God.
In “Woman Meets Jesus,” Vander Zee tried to take her experiences and match them with the experiences of women from the Bible. To do this, she had to gain an understanding of their perspective.
There are many biblical examples, she said, of women who were outcasts of society. It was these women who Jesus chose to minister to.
“Mary Magdalene [a prostitute] becomes the first person Jesus entrusts with spreading his Word. He said this to a woman,” she said.
Vander Zee said as she studied the spiritual healing that Jesus gave these women; she recognized similar patterns in her own life.
“In my past books, I didn’t allow the characters to become close to me,” she said, “I wanted to allow these characters to come alive to me.”
As the characters came alive to her, she began to notice discrepancies in the way the modern church views women.
“Jesus was not caught up in the church of His day,” she said. “When Jesus lived His life, He empowered women.”
She went on to question the roles women are given in the church today.
“Does being a woman make me less a part of the church?” asked Vander Zee, “I don’t see that from Jesus at all. I find Jesus to be a lot more open about women’s roles in the church.”
She said that many in the church today simply want to have power and keep that power for themselves. This is not how Jesus lived.
“I don’t think Jesus operated out of power,” she said, “He operated out of love and grace. The minute I come to you as the moral authority, what is your first response? Your response is, ‘Eh, I don’t think so.’”
Now, she wants to make sure that people know what the biblical view of women is – how Jesus views them.
“I’m not a crusader, I’m not a prophet, and I’m not going to stand on my soap box,” said Vander Zee, “I just beg everyone to ask themselves a question: Out of what motivation do I do the things I do? I think Jesus wants us to examine what we believe on this subject.”
Related:
Author Vander Zee: God ‘healed parts of me I didn’t know needed healing (Part I)
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