Her? She?

We are all made in the image of God - and men and women who are surrendered to the Lord have the capacity to have a relationship with Christ, from which flows our unique giftedness. 1st Timothy chapter 2 says this:
8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,
10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.

In this passage, you see the intensity that God desires for his children - male and female.  Throughout the Scriptures, we see that men and women alike are called to walk rightly before the Lord, seeking to produce fruit to the glory of God.  In this passage, men are called upon to exercise spiritual responsibility to pray; that doesn't exclude women from doing that, as well.  Women are called to good works in this passage, but men who are obedient to God are also empowered for good works.  We should always be watchful and prayerful, submissive to God, so that His life might flow through us.

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In Genesis 1, in the Creation narrative, the Scriptures firmly establish the biological absolute of male and female; we can read these words:
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

March is Women's History Month, and tomorrow is recognized as International Women's Day, so the Hershey chocolate company, in an ad campaign in Canada, made the decision to use a man identifying as a woman to be a spokesperson for this new emphasis.

A Faithwire story relates:

The chocolate manufacturer brought back its limited-edition Hershey’s SHE bars for a third year on March 1 to “honor the influential women and girls who make an impact on our lives,” the Pennsylvania-based company said in a statement. “The Hershey’s SHE bars serve as a heartwarming reminder to take a moment and shine a light on the women and girls who inspire us every day.”

But, according to the article, "In Canada, the candy bar is being branded as HER. One of the five chosen to appear on the Canadian version of the candy bar is Fae Johnstone, a transgender woman, and activist, according to Newsweek."  Johnstone tweeted out, “I grew up with few trans role models. Many young trans folks haven’t met a trans adult,” adding, “I hope this campaign shows trans girls they can dream big and change the world too.”

The article quoted a tweet from Abigail Shrier, author of the book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, who said, “You get the feeling that these companies *always* despised women — they were just waiting for the right moment...," adding, "Here’s the thing about real women, Hersheys: we have long memories.”

Joy Stackbauer of Family Research Council, writing for The Washington Stand, stated:

Sadly, the trend of kowtowing to the LGBTQQIP2SAA mob in direct opposition to supporting women has infested many mainstream chocolate producers. In 2021, both Mars, Inc. and Nestle USA joined an op-ed in support of transing kids and decrying state laws that protect women’s sports. After years of popular chocolate companies supporting the erasure of women, it appears that Americans are fed up.

She added:

If you’re a lover of both chocolate and biological reality, there’s no need to continue buying from woke companies that hate women. Even in a world where radical corporate activism lurks around every corner, it is (nearly) always possible to find a small, family-operated alternative to the mainstream companies that profit from perversion and sin.

As an example of that, her article offered three alternative chocolatiers. 

Franklin Graham tweeted out:

@Hersheys is using a biological man to represent women for International Women’s Day?? That’s really a slap in the face to women everywhere. I hope mothers, sisters, and daughters will rise up and tell Michele Buck, President and CEO of Hershey’s—who is a woman—that they don’t appreciate this and she should stand with women, not the woke Transagenda.

He linked to a FoxNews.com piece that included these quotes from professing Christians:

The Federalist Editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway blasted the candy maker with a scathing response, saying, "So @Hersheys is featuring a male in costume as a woman for its international women’s day ad campaign."

Conservative author and transgender movement critic Oli London slammed Johnstone and the ad, tweeting, "This is a tweet from the new face of HERSHEYS International Women’s Day Campaign - a man who identifies as a woman! The whole ad campaign is designed to uplift women on women’s day- but instead is a complete disrespect to REAL Women!"

In November, CBN.com ran an article about London that stated:

Social media influencer Oli London has gained millions of followers over the last few years on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, but he shocked the world last week after announcing that he would no longer be living his life as a transgender woman, but instead would embrace his God-given identity as a man.

Oli told CBN News his decision to detransition all began with finding God.

"I actually started going to church three months ago and I go several times a week now," he told CBN News. "I've been reading the Bible, I've been learning online, and watching YouTube videos about the teaching of Jesus and that has really helped me in my detransition. It made me realize that God made me the way He did (and) I should just stick with who I am, be who I am, and just find happiness."

So, the question, "What is a woman?" continues to reverberate across our culture, as gender confusion has continued to proliferate. Fortunately, there are those who are pushing back. I think that the detransitioner, Oli London, has a point: "God made me the way He did..."  The lie, that we will cover tomorrow, that God put young people in the wrong body has caused untold confusion. 

The Bible tells us we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  But, because of the fall and the accompanying curse, we need to be redeemed.  We were also born into a state of separation from God, and we must put to death the deeds of the flesh so that Christ's life can be expressed through us. The fleshly temptations to act in a manner inconsistent with who God wants us to be are very real, they affect us all, and we have to take the necessary action to crucify the flesh and reject its desires.

We also recognize that the Bible affirms us in our gender - the creation story in Genesis tells us that God created male and female - two genders, not 4, not 10, not 67 or whatever the latest number that is being force-fed to our culture. Our biological sex is a gift, and we should embrace that identity that is consistent with God's intent.  He will redeem and He will use males and females according to His giftedness, and those of us who are born again can anticipate how God desires to express Himself through us.