Happy Father’s Day! This weekend in the United States, as in other countries, we celebrate fathers. While being a father is one of the most important and most responsibility-laden gifts a man can have, the joy of having children does not define our worth or give meaning to our existence. Who we are as human beings is the foundation of our being. This does not depend on our gender or the roles we hold or represent. In a society obsessed with what we do, what we achieve, or what we represent, who we are should define us and be reflected in every aspect of our lives.

The Bible clearly teaches that both men and women are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). The image of God is our identity and the source of our worth and dignity. Both men and women find their worth in God and in themselves, without depending on their actions or on roles considered masculine or feminine. We all sinned, and the consequences of our sin have broken our relationship with God, with our fellow human beings, with ourselves, and with creation — regardless of gender or role. The salvation and forgiveness of sins that God offers through Jesus are for everyone (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8), regardless of gender. All of us who, by God’s grace, have been adopted into God’s family enjoy fellowship with our triune God (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1). The gender, economic and social distinctions imposed by society have been clearly abolished in Jesus, as Galatians 3:28 masterfully states: “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Therefore, a Christian is a follower or disciple of Jesus, regardless of gender or any other variable. Jesus instructed his followers to make more disciples and to teach them to obey him in everything (Matthew 28:18–20). In this passage, commonly known as the Great Commission, no distinction is made by gender or role; rather, we are all called to follow Jesus and teach one another. In the other central passage of Christianity, known as The Great Commandment, we are called to love God above all else and our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–40), again without distinction based on gender or social roles. Being a Christian has nothing to do with being a man or a woman, but with following and imitating Jesus in our lives.

What we commonly call “the Christian life” refers to our daily walk with Jesus. This life is possible only with the help of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in believers and empowers them to live it to the fullness that God desires for His children (Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25). When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives, Christian virtues are produced within us — what the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). Nor are the fruit or virtues of the Holy Spirit determined by our gender; rather, they apply to all believers. In other words, there are no “feminine” or “masculine” virtues, nor are there virtues specific to fathers or mothers — only those of believers in Christ.

Similarly, throughout the New Testament, it is clear that Christians lead interdependent lives and that Christianity is lived out in community, regardless of our gender or civil or social status. In fact, both the vices we must avoid and the virtues we must pursue apply to everyone. For example, in Colossians 3, the image is used of putting off vices or putting on virtues as if they were garments:

But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity (Col. 3:8-14).

So, clearly, our essence as human beings and as Christians is not determined by what we do but by who we are. We all need one another, and we must teach and admonish one another regardless of our gender or social status (Col. 3:16). The cultural obsession with defining our worth based on our gender or the roles we play clearly goes against God and our reality.

Obviously, each of us has different lives and responsibilities. Men and women are not the same, and those who have children have different responsibilities than those who do not. However, our worth and our purpose are not determined by our gender or the roles we play. A true man is a follower of Jesus. A true woman is a follower of Jesus. A true father or a true mother is a follower of Jesus. There is no “men’s Bible” or “women’s Bible,” nor is there a “Christian life for men” or a “Christian life for women.” We are all equal, and we need one another. Therefore, those of us who are blessed to be parents, let us celebrate our day while remembering that the best father is the one who follows Jesus — just like everyone else.

This post and other resources are available on Octavio Esqueda’s blog.