If God created us “male and female” and declared that our genders are “very good” (Genesis 1:27,31), why do so many people—even God-fearing, Spirit-filled followers of Jesus—struggle so much with gender?
The answer comes in Genesis chapter 3 when the first male and female fell into sin and gender forever fell apart in the process. The apostle Paul later lamented, “We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). We groan as we wait for Jesus to come back and make our bodies better. Transgender people feel this reality all too often. One young woman told me she felt like she wanted to crawl out of her skin in search of a new body.
But that struggle isn’t exclusive to the transgender community. Have you ever battled anxiety? or depression? or addictive behavior? or a heart that suffers from obsessive comparison disorder? or anorexic thoughts that tell you things about your body that aren’t true? Why are those feelings so natural? Why are we born that way? Because after Adam and Eve fell into sin, everything fell apart, our brains and bodies included.
Thankfully, Jesus is coming back to redeem our bodies. He’ll fix us as thoroughly as he forgave us on the cross. Until then, we wait in faith, trusting that our struggles are not worth comparing to the glory that is about to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).
Tomorrow learn more about the hope that Jesus gives.
