Eve: She's not who you think she is.

At the end of last year I really began to have an interest in the women of the Bible. The named, the unnamed, the unmentioned. They were as alive and active as we are today but because of the culture and time when they lived, their stories have been unjustly told, if recognized at all.

I picked up “More Than Enchanting” by Jo Saxton because of the tagline: “Breaking through barriers to Influence Your World.” Jo is a strong, vocal Christian woman and since I often find myself going down a path of ministry without a female example to follow, I knew I wanted to build on her experience of breaking through barriers to use my influence for God’s kingdom. She is encouraging and empowering and will fan the spark in your spirit into a flame until you’re ready to light it all up. Little did I know that she would also lead me back to the original examples. The O.G. women of the Bible.

Theologian Carolyn Custis James said “God cast the mold for all women when he created Eve. She embodies the secrets of his original blueprint for us. So we rightly turn to her to understand who we are and to discover God’s purposes for us.” Hmm, Carolyn. I’m not sure that you’ve landed us in the right place. You do know Eve’s story, right? Is she really the blueprint we should follow?

Jo writes “The church and culture’s tendency throughout history is to view Eve through the lens of her mistake and the Fall. Perhaps there are some glimpses of her true design in some broken pieces that remained, but even they are overshadowed by that choice, that day.” And the gem turned.

Eve is immortalized in her one mistake. Can you imagine? I’ve made some real mistakes. Some that are public and some that feel so shameful I keep them close. Especially the ones I continue to make over and over again. Can you imagine being defined by your one mistake? By one choice? Your entire life, all of your accomplishments, all of the good that you’ve done, all the people you’ve loved, the joy you’ve brought in hopeless moments, the light you’ve spilled in darkness, the thoughts you’ve prompted and lives that have been changed because of your existence. Gone and forgotten. Replaced by one. single. decision.

It’s heartbreaking. I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes of many women in the Bible and it’s helped me understand certain stories better. It’s easy to see myself as Martha, bustling around and preparing for Jesus while my lazy sister, Mary, just get His attention. I can see myself as newly pregnant Mary, trying to trust God for something that I feel supernaturally drawn to while it makes no earthly sense. I can imagine being the bleeding woman, so desperate for change and healing that I’d believe one touch of Jesus’ cloak, a nearness that doesn’t require attention, would fill me with the supernatural power I need to do what I can’t do on my own. I can even see myself as the woman at the well, taking blame for a mistake while also being powerless to defend myself against the others who were equally invested and involved in the wrongdoing. These are all situations I can understand and empathize with, trying to find my lesson in these situations. But Eve’s? I have never imagined her as more than the scapegoat - the one we put all our blame and pain on. The one who messed up.

Oh right. I guess I have been that one, too.

“Those shadows have extended through history, labeling women as more easily deceived than men, as the temptress. Women are weak-willed and potentially dangerous, so perhaps it’s in fact wise and responsibly protective to limit a woman’s role? Consequently, women have often been defined and reacted against in response to a fallen Eve instead of the fullness of God’s glorious original design.”

How have we missed this all these years? How have we forgotten that Eve had purpose and life and was loved by God as much as the rest of us?! She walked with Him in the garden. That’s more intimacy with the Lord than I’ve ever physically experienced. Of course He had a plan for her life. And to think that it was solely to screw up life for the rest of us is disgusting. That is not the God we know. If we want to know who we were designed to be and what God’s purpose is for women, we have to look at the original Eve. And our original selves.

Who were you before your fall? Is there a mistake you’ve made that follows you? That you can’t shake? A choice that unfairly defines you? It doesn’t have to be public or one that even another solitary person on this Earth knows about. But if you are living under the shadow of a mistake, a series of choices or a pattern of behavior that is trying to dictate who you are, I need you to go back and remember who you were before. I can’t tell you how far back to go. Maybe it’s just a few years, maybe it’s way back to childhood because you experienced a trauma early on that seemed to change the trajectory of your life. Only you can know what your “fall” is. But in this moment, God is saying that it doesn't matter. Because whether you chose it or not, it was not His intention for your life. He will not let it define you.

You were made in God’s likeness but that has nothing to do with what you see in the mirror. Being made in God’s image is about your soul, not your appearance. It means that WHO He is is reflected in you. In you! That was your intended purpose and original design, to be a reflection of God’s spirit. Just as it was Eve’s. Before some guy decided that her story would be summed up in one moment of weakness.

Your fall is not your story. God may have a story that comes out of it. He may use it, when you’re ready, to heal the wounds of others. Or it may stay private, between you and Him, and be a reminder of His faithfulness and how He never left you, even in, during or after your choices. But your dreams and passions? The way you desire to change the world and work hard to influence the people around you? Maybe that’s how you reflect His likeness. When you selflessly love others, risk your own security in relationship and step out in faith to follow Him when you don’t know where He’s leading you? Perhaps that’s how you live in to who He created you to be. Perhaps that’s how you live out the purest version of God that anyone will ever come to know.

This painting “Mary Consoles Eve” has always pulled on my heartstrings but I didn’t know why. Now I think I get it. Both of these women are part of history and both of them seem to have been put there to serve one purpose. One is seen as positive. The other is seen as negative. They both are defined by one moment in time that truly had little to do with them as people. Eve took away all that was good in the world. Mary brought it all back in Jesus. And both acts would have happened even if they had been other people. Mary seems to understand here, as she looks at Eve with such love and compassion, that it really wasn’t about them at all. The story is sin. grace. forgiveness. redemption.

I am Mary. And I am Eve. I am both of them at the same time. I fail and I succeed. I am a poor reflection of God and I reflect Him so clearly. I’ve made choices He is so proud of and others I can barely bring to Him. But they are all part of my story, and His story, as I choose to let God use me and work through me.

You are not defined by one moment, one choice or one fall. Grace picks you back up. Forgiveness wipes it out. And redemption says that it’s the rest of your life, the moments you live out your original design, that truly define you.

We are so sorry, Eve. Our mean-girl vendetta against you is over.