(Photos by Selma Komisky)

The Beauty of Honoring Women: Photo Shoot

By Sarah and Selma Komisky

Today the world is shedding light on the fact that women are not respected. We should be disturbed and angered by the way woman have been treated, harassed, violated and exploited. But, it’s nothing new really. In Bible times in the book of Esther chapter one, Vashti was the wife of King Xerxes. Queen Vashti simply refused to allow herself to be exploited as the sexual plaything of an abusive drunkard. The queen says “no” and insists on her “no.” She knows that she will be punished for refusing to act as she is expected to but, for her, it is worth the risk. In the book of John chapter eight, the Pharisees brings a woman who had been caught in adultery to Jesus and makes her stand before all of them nude. And in those days, women in general were discriminated against just because they were women. Yet Jesus protected her, defended her, and offered her grace; to a woman who was clearly broken and just looking to be loved.

Here at Marked Ministry, we want to honor women like Jesus did and continues to do by reflecting on His words to women. It was important for us to deliver them to you by a guy who loves God. Our model, Harley, loved the message and was excited to be apart of our issue sharing this message. Each statement was prayed about and given consideration as we desired to create statements that reflected the heart of Jesus. In the process, we thought it would be fun to come up with a concept that captured some of the personality and style of our model, giving a retro black and white feel. Inspired by his wardrobe, we coupled classic with cool because we believe godly guys have style! But, we also believe the true definition of “cool” comes from Jesus, who wasn’t afraid to stand up for women and show them honor. We pray Harley isn’t the first or the last in this movement. May you be inspired to do the same.