God's Glorious Plan for Males and Females

God has a great love story planned for us, one that began at the moment we were conceived male or female.

Within the next few months, I will become a grandmother to two more babies. My children just went in for their ultrasounds and saw their baby for the first time. Both were very interested in learning if their child would be a boy or a girl. Using the technology of ultrasound, both got their answer. Both caught a glimpse into the mystery of an unborn life and now know if life outside the womb will be framed in either pink or blue.

I was also very excited to know the sex of each babe because being male or being female is fundamental to who we are as a person; from biology to psychology, sentimentality to spirituality, sexual distinction permeates everything that we are and do. According to Saint Pope John Paul II, maleness and femaleness—one’s “sexuality”—is a fundamental fact of human existence. It affects the unity of one’s body and soul and gives rise to a powerful and tender expression of love.

When they told me the gender of each child (one with a cake containing blue frosting inside and the other with a balloon that contained pink confetti) my thoughts turned to the first chapter of the Bible that tells us, “God created mankind in His image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” How blessed it is to believe that God's hand has willed these children to be a boy and a girl. ‘Being man’ in one case and ‘being woman’ in the other will be a lived reality for these two children; a reality that is good and willed by God.

God reveals how highly he values our complementarity by making permanent, faithful, and fruitful love only possible through the love of a man and woman.

How often do we underplay the beauty of sexual differences that give rise to the great human love story that God intends us to experience. Perhaps it is a sign of the times that we forego sharing the goodness that exists between a man and woman and how these inherent differences designed by God orient each sex to the other.

God places high value on the male/female relationship making the complementarity between the genders the norm for permanent, faithful and fruitful love. Through her femininity, a woman helps a man know himself as a son of God.  In turn, a man's masculinity helps a woman know herself as a daughter of God. Together, they can become “one flesh” and share in the glory God intends for generous human love.

The fullness and creation of new of life isn't even possible without gender complementarity.

The sexual differences between male and female give rise to the biblical passage, “...that is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife and the two of them become one body” (Genesis 2:24). Obviously, my children know the greatness of the one flesh union and its natural outcome of a child. Now, they are finding awe and wonder in the sex of their unborn child.

As the weeks tick forward until the birth of each babe, they will recognize and respect the mystery and beauty of the maleness or femaleness waiting to be born. Just as they and most parents of an unborn baby contemplate how the sex of their child will impact their life, so too should we consider the fullness of life that is possible because humans are created male and female, uniquely suited by their complementarity to be joined in a bond of self-giving, fruitful, permanent love. Sexual distinction is vital to God's plan for Sacrament of Marriage.

Like God does, we too should place a high value on our maleness and femaleness.

After learning that a brand new grandson and granddaughter will soon be part of our family, it occurred to me that if God can place high value on maleness and femaleness, the I can too.

So, here's my plan. I am going to call out the beauty of each baby I see in public by engaging his or her parents in a conversation about their sweet son or daughter. I will intentionally ask questions about how they love their little girl or boy rather than their child. The hope is to accentuate how the maleness or femaleness of the child is perfectly willed by our Creator and is worth valuing.

Perhaps you might try the same thing when you see a baby with his or her parents. Like I said, if God values each of us as either a male or female, then we can too.