All One in Christ

One of the best things about sports is that both men and women, boys and girls, can participate and compete. We no longer consider active sports inappropriate for women, and women’s opportunities have increased. This is also one of the best things about our Christian faith, because in Christ, there is no male or female, no distinctions among believers. Jesus was exceptional in His regard and care for women in ancient times, the first spiritual leader ever to treat women on equal footing with men. He interacted with women and gave them pride of place in ways that were unusual and even a scandal to those in his culture.

The history of the early church shows that women were leaders in advancing the Gospel, bringing their families into the faith, serving in respected and important roles. The early church martyrs for faith included many courageous women.

After all, who were the ones brave enough to stay by Jesus on the cross and to visit his tomb on the first Easter morning? It was the women who followed him. E.g., Matthew 27:55-56, 61, 28; John 19:25-27, 20; Luke 23:49, 55-5; Luke 24. “It is one of the lessons of the life of Jesus that women often showed more physical courage than men,” wrote church historian Paul Johnson.