Anything You Can Do

"You're just a girl."

Ellie stuck her tongue out at Tim, the annoying boy next door. The afternoon sun lit Tim up, making him look as authoritative as he sounded.

Stupid sun.

"Being a girl has nothing to do with this. I can do anything you can. If boys can do this, so can I."

He made a face at her in return. "You're just a little girl, Ellie. Get real. You can't do that."

"Yes, I can! My mommy and daddy said I could do anything through Christ!" She glared at him. Why did he have to be so mean? Sure what she was doing was hard. Maybe even kind of crazy. She was only a kid after all, and there were a lot of hungry people in the world...

But she wanted to help! She felt like God would want her to help any way she could. So Ellie had started talking to any adult that would listen, and making plans to send food to an orphanage each month.

The only probably was the meanies like Tim.

He snorted, and Ellie felt her face flush with rage. A light breeze tried to cool her, but it was too late.

Elle jerked her thumb towards her chest. "If you want to be mean, fine. Just go away. I am going to do this. I want to help. If you cared about God's people, you would stop putting me down, and help me."

"Whatever, Ellie." Tim stormed into his house.

At least he had left her alone.

So I have that ever-popular song stuck in my head from the musical Annie Get Your Gun while I wrote this post. (Bonus points if you know the song!)

 Believe it or not, this is not a girl power blog post. This is a women of God/man of God/people of God post.

I want to share some verses with you guys. Verses that I find/found really cool. Verses that  I swear must have recently been put into the Bible because they seem that new and fresh.

Verses you probably won't find that interesting.

At first!

As some of you know, I'm a youth leader at my church. So there I was at youth group, surrounding by the kids and teens. The youth pastor ask the kids to pick anything in the New Testament. So the girls sitting next to me ended up in Luke chapter 8.

There is some good stuff in Luke 8. The parable of the sower. Jesus calming the storm. The lamp under a basket teaching. Jesus casting out a demon. Jesus healing the woman with the issue of blood, and then raising the 12 year old girl from the dead are even in this chapter. Some major stuff went down here!

But what verse did those girls randomly pick that did not contain any of that awesome stuff?

Verse 1.

Which had the heading "Woman Accompanying Jesus."

In Bible days, woman weren't very important. Remember when Jesus fed the 5,000? That wasn't 5,000 people; that was 5,000 men. They didn't count women and children back then.

So I find these next few verses significant.

"Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means." Luke 8:1-3

As the gospel spread throughout the land and among the people, the women made sure they were involved. They weren't missing out! Some of those women were healed of sickness. Others were freed from evil spirits! None were left wanting. None were lacking. All of them were getting some of those blessings.

Not only that, but those women were actively involved in the ministry of Jesus. They provided for them. They helped make sure Jesus and the disciples had food to eat, water to drink, places to sleep, and sturdy clothes to wear.

My brother is actively involved in missions in his neck of the world, so I know from him that these day to day things are essential and necessary in ministry. Really in any ministry. Even from my work in the youth group, these things are a big part of planning in any event. They are not to be overlooked, considered lightly, or demeaned in any way.

In an era when women were all but trash, they were still actively serving God, and I think that is beyond awesome.

What about us today? In an era when we can do so much to further God's work, are we doing it? Man or woman, young or old, poor or royal heiress, we all have a part to play. We all have a way to contribute to the kingdom of God. Do we ignore those reasons because of how the world tells us we need to live?

Sometimes I think we do... But do you know what I say to that?

Anything the world tells me to do for it or for myself, I can do better for God!

Because no one is me. No one can contribute like me. No person brings the exact same strengths to the Lord. They are all gloriously different and needed.

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24

I hope we are all actively serving God, because no matter what the opposition is, we can do it. It is important. Don't despise your small beginnings because it may be a life-sustaining act for someone else.

God bless you guys! I hope you have an awesome end of April! I look forward to seeing you again on May 1st!

P.S. The song was, "Anything You Can Do."  :)

V. Joy Palmer