The Five Aspects of Woman: Mistress of the Domain Created

     I am sure you have heard, "You are created in the image of God" from other Christians, the Bible or even on Sunday mornings but what does that mean, especially as a woman?

     I am doing a 25 week bible course, Barbara Mouser's "Five Aspects of Woman", that is exploring that exact issue. It explores the root of womanhood based on Genesis 1:1-Revelation 22:21. The aspects include: Mistress of the Domain, Helper-Completer, Life Giver, Lady of Wisdom and Glory of Man. Each aspect is then explained from the created, fallen and redeemed perspective. There are many key points to each aspect but I will only share what I have personally taken from each one. (You will have to take the class for yourself to learn the rest :)

     Mistress of the Domain was the first aspect we just finished. This aspect was fascinating to me because it gave me a deeper appreciation for my created being. I love learning more about how purposeful and planned the human male and female were and how personal God was in creating them and His plan to save them.

     Something that really struck my heart was that being created in the image of God means that we reflect God's nature in our humanity, it has nothing to do with gender. I previously held the belief that a man and woman together made the complete image of God. But, my thinking was faulty because if that were true, God would have to be part feminine and He does not reveal Himself throughout the Scripture as both feminine and masculine, but masculine only. I found it interesting that every single woman has all five aspects whether they are visible or not.

     Based from the Scriptures, we can see that God created us with characteristics that mirror His larger attributes...the difference is that He exhibits His attributes perfectly and completely. Some examples are that we have a mind that is capable of knowing some things (God is omniscient (all knowing)) and we have a conscience that can usually tell right from wrong (God is just). There are more of these attributes covered in the study but I just wanted to give an example to keep you with me.

     Knowing all these attributes has given me a deeper appreciation for who I am and who others were created to be. I love how Mouser says, "We will never find ourselves in ourselves. We will find ourselves in God. Only knowing the One in whose image we are makes sense of our own image." I just love that.

     The world mandate is something I have latched onto the most. It has since come up in my heart over and over again. Mouser explains our purpose of life based on Genesis 1:28, "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." We were created for the earth, to care for it, maintain it and produce from it. Mouser writes, " God designed the world so men could complete what He started. As they complete what He started their humanity is fulfilled and God is glorified. " This is so beautiful. This also explains why I feel so fulfilled when I rake the leaves in our yard and clean up the house after a long day. What a purposeful and loving God to have created us and let us do things that are meaningful and fulfilling...as small as some tasks may seem. She continues on saying, "Man was created to search out and cultivate the creation and it capacities...in one sense the creation is a game of divine hide and seek." I continue to think through how this is true. One day someone figured out how to grow cotton and  spin it to make thread, yarn, string and then put them together in a pattern to make the shirt that is on my back....that is amazing!  It's just one small example of something we take for granted and some of God's fingerprints we miss each day.

     So the world mandate in Genesis 1:28 is to find what domain(s) God has called us to and we are to rule that domain, maintain it and produce from it because God has given us authority over the earth He has created.

     Throughout this study we have had projects to do after each aspect so we can make it more personal. I wanted to share mine with you. I chose to take a picture that showed the domains I feel God has called me to rule over.

     I had Big Daddy B take some pictures and I felt this one represented my domain the best. Little Bub running away, Peanut asking me questions, Baby B just hanging out and Big Bub wondering when I am going to start reading again. It is the perfect picture for my current domain for homeschooling and parenting. My relationship with God is foundational to being responsible in caring for my domains so I listed it on our fireplace because our fireplace is basically the center of our home. In the bottom left-hand corner, I have arranged some things that represent my other domains. I have also listed in words, the domains I feel I am responsible for at this season in my life:  parenting, scrapbooking, homeschooling, my time, my words, my thoughts, discipleship, relationship with God, photography, homemaking and cleaning.  My domains do and will continue to change throughout the seasons of life but this is where I am right now.

     I would encourage you to ponder first in whose image were you created and remind you that you can only find who you are in God because it is His image we bear. I want to also encourage you to think about your domain and how you can make decisions that produce fruit from within your domains. "To not decide is to decide."

     I will be posting Mistress of the Domain Fallen and Redeemed in the next couple of days so look for those posts.  The fallen will give you a greater picture of how we experience Mistress of the Domain.