We were meant to be in relationships with others. the Bible tells us that we were made in the image of God. Think about that for a moment God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit. So that means we were made in the image of a perfect relationship. We are relational to the core of our being. Jesus said it very well when he was asked what the greatest commandment was, he said to love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength and then he said the second is like this, you’re to love one another. The need to love and to be loved is a foundation of all relationships. The female will never understand her life as a woman until she understands this: you are passionately loved by God, but you also need to know that you are passionately hated by the enemy. Let’s talk about this hatred by the enemy. Ephesians 6:12 says we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. The assault on females has a long history and it cannot be understood apart from the spiritual forces of evil that were warned about in the scriptures. This is not to say that women aren’t also assaulted by men and other women, but we need to understand why there’s such a special hatred by the enemy. Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden. Who did Satan go after? Why does he single out for his move against the human race a female? He could have chosen Adam, but he didn’t. Satan went after Eve. He set his sights on her. Have you ever wondered why? Might have been like any predator. He chose what he believed would be the weaker of the two, but I don’t think that’s true. He’s ruthless but we believe there is more. Why does Satan make Eve the focus of his assault on humanity? Well let’s go back and look a little bit in the scriptures. After God created Adam in his image, He knew creation was not complete. So, he created Eve. Eve became the completion of creation. She wasn’t just an afterthought, but she was the crown of creation, and she too was created in the image of God. What part of God? The relational part of God. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit that perfect relation. That’s how Eve was created and a woman’s deep desire and capacity for intimate relationships is a reflection of God. As we go back and look at Scripture, we see that Satan’s first name was Lucifer. He was the most beautiful angel that had ever been created. Many believe he was a captain of the Angel armies of God, perfect and beautiful. That’s the enemy. He was gorgeous, he was breathtaking and because of this it destroyed him. Pride entered his heart. As an angel he came to believe he’d been cheated somehow, and he wanted the worship that was being given to God. He wanted it all for himself. So, he didn’t merely play a role in a story, he wanted the story to be all about him so let’s see what he did. Satan fell because of this beauty. Now he assaults beauty. He destroys it and our natural world wherever he can. I mean think of things in society like strip mines, oil spills, all kinds of destruction that mankind has done to this earth. Satan loves it when beauties destroyed. Which is why he hates Eve and why is that? Well, she’s beautiful and more beautiful than anything else in all creation. She was created in God’s image, the relationship image of God. So, Satan hates her with a jealousy that we can only imagine. And there is more. The evil one also hates Eve because she gives life. Women give birth not men. Women nourish life. Satan was a murderer from the beginning. According to John 8:44, scripture says he brings death, his is a kingdom of death. Rituals, sacrifices, genocide, Holocaust, and abortion are all his ideas. Thus, Eve is his greatest human threat for she brings life. If you’re really tired with living with all the struggles that you have with your identity and with the enemy, there’s an answer for you. I have good news for you. There’s one greater than your enemy and that’s God. Your true identity is based on God’s plan for your life which is based on unconditional love and acceptance by God. And I know there’s an awful lot of misconception of who God is and I know that’s why so many people want to stay away from Him. And sadly, I also know that the church is as much a part of that as the world is. But let’s look at some of the positive things about who God is and what he has to offer. God really does want you to know who you are. He wants you to understand why you’re here and what His plans are for you today and in the future. As a woman, you’re the bearer of the image of God, the crown of creation. You are chosen before time and are wholly and dearly loved. What does God want from you? He wants a personal, intimate relationship with you. That intimate relationship is one where you talk heart to heart to Him. It involves your emotional, physical closeness to Him and it’s where you can be known by Him and have a peace knowing that everything you say to Him is in complete confidence. That’s the kind of relationship that’s based on honesty, trust, respect, appreciation and self-disclosure. That’s what God wants with you, and you can have that with God. He wants the same thing that you want. He wants to be loved. He wants to be known by you. He wants intimacy with you. And to have that intimacy with God you have to offer it to him. Who are you? Be a child of God. First John chapter four verse fifteen says if anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the son of God, God lives in them and they in God. Jesus left Heaven and came to Earth. He lived a very tough and lonely life at times. He was crucified on a cross and He rose from the dead He did all of that for you. And He loves you so much and want you to accept His love. First John verse 9 says, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”. That’s the life that God promises for you and me when we accept Him. Let’s find out what it means to be a child of God and how that defines who we are as we look at more scripture First John chapter three verse one says, ‘See how great a love the father has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God and such we are’. So, what defines who we are? Our new life in Christ. Our identity doesn’t come from our physical life, which is temporal, but it comes from our spiritual life which is eternal. That’s what Jesus came to give us. Understanding our identity in Christ is essential for living the Christian life. We cannot consistently behave in ways that are inconsistent with what we believe about ourselves. So, we must believe who we are as children of God, and we can look at scriptures that define that. John chapter one verse 11 says I am God’s child. John chapter 15 verse 15 says, I am Christ friend. First Corinthians chapter 12 verse 27 says, I’m a member of Christ’s body. Ephesians chapter one verse 1 says, I am holy I am a saint, and a saint here is defined as someone who has accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, not someone who is sinless but someone who desires to sin less. Ephesians 1:5 says I’ve been adopted as God’s child. First Corinthians chapter 3:16 and First Corinthians chapter 6 verse19 says, I am a temple of God his spirit and his life dwells in me. Colossians 3:12 says, I am chosen of God holy and dearly loved. First Peter 5:8 says, I’m an enemy of the devil. First Peter 5:8 says, I’m born of God and the evil one the devil cannot touch me. Because you have accepted Christ in your life, every one of these characteristics are completely true of you. Choose to believe this and live a life of knowing who you are. So many people suffer day to day because they do not know who they are. But you can know. You can believe it and you can live it. Ladies, an excellent book that will help you really understand what a woman is created for, is, ‘Captivating’ by John and Stasi Eldredge. By J Douglas