For those of you
who have never had a baby, it is a very physical experience.
Hormones go crazy and life revolves around food, swollen ankles,
medical tests, and needing tons of rest. Like some cruel joke
morning sickness returns in the third trimester. And I was a bit
anemic which made me a practical zombie - a zombie with a very large
beach ball under my shirt. It was also a high-risk pregnancy due to
a blood clotting disorder which can cause malnourishment to the fetus
and even miscarriages and stillbirths. And then we had an emergency
c-section because of the way the cord was wrapped around her neck.
God was with us the whole time, leading us to the right doctors and
medical decisions which resulted in a very strong and healthy baby.
The pregnancy and birth experience are definitely one of our major
life testimonies.
Many months before my pregnancy, I
remember researching why God commanded the Israelite women to purify
themselves after childbirth and menstruation (for example see Lev.
12). After all, He created our bodies with those abilities so how
could they be sinful? And if these activities aren't sinful then why
do they require purification?
One concept I found was that the
Israelites weren't viewing things as “good vs. bad” or “sinful
vs. not sinful” like we do today. They viewed a spectrum of
earthly to spiritual. And
yes, pregnancy is a very earthly experience that left me needing a
spiritual cleansing, a piecing back together, from all the focusing
on my body, the life inside of me, and the hormones that drove my
husband and other people crazy.
The point of this is that maybe we've
got the wrong mindset. I'm not saying sin doesn't exist, but I am
saying that we go too far in thinking every single thing we do must
either be all good or all bad. Pregnancy for example is neither good
or bad in the context of sin. It is, however, way more earthly than
spiritual. The mindset of a spectrum of
earthly to spiritual allows for better understanding of each person's
lifelong journey with God. Such a mindset fits when looking at why
some Christians have cut something out of their lives
(alcohol comes to mind as an example) while
others lead spiritual lives without removing it. As 1 Cor 6:12
says, things may be “lawful” for Christians to do but not
everything will be profitable to the individual. It is something for
each person to work out with God.
Another thing I
learned when looking into the Jewish purification ritual is that some
things could be purified in still waters while others, including
pregnancy, required bathing in fresh flowing waters, also referred to
as living water. I had always thought Jesus referring to himself as
“living water” was just a nice metaphor. I see now how
meaningful it was when He said, “Whoever believes in me, as
Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within
them.” (John 7:38 NIV; see also John 4 for another usage).
The idea that you don't have to undertake rituals to be purified, that a human can directly access God for forgiveness and spiritual renewal was revolutionary and still is revolutionary for many people. This little amazing fact had such a high cost – the life of the pure and perfect Son of God; God who loves each of us so much, right here and now and in all of our sin, that He paid that cost.
We know this had little to do with the LGBT community. Our next post will be more on-topic as we answer a very important question: Where are we going with this? Yes we know, many have been wondering. We were wondering ourselves for awhile. God has provided an answer and confirmations about where we're headed and we hope you will come with us on the journey.
Further
reading: An interesting
explanation of the Jewish water purification ritual, written by Mayim
Bialik (better known to some as Blossom
or Amy Farrah Fowler):
http://www.kveller.com/traditions/Jewish-Living/the-mikveh.shtml
