Women and men who are pro-life in every sense of the word marched side-by-side with pro-choice women because they care about so many common issues. We are already joined in common-cause to end sex-trafficking, pornography, discrimination, bullying, and a host of other issues.

The biblical assertion that women are created in God's image and Boaz's advocacy for Ruth and Naomi necessarily mean women, then and now, have inherent God-given rights. This surely means the church should be at the forefront of advocating for women's rights - not merely political and legal rights, but as in the case of Boaz moving beyond the letter of the law to exceed how any culture regards women.

Our society and especially those who suffer injustice need to feel the impact of our commitment to justice and our advocacy for the vulnerable.

Faith may want answers, but somehow it is able to survive without them.

In 1855, a former American slave remarked: "Tisn't he who has stood and looked on, that can tell you what slavery is - tis he who has endured."I think the same holds true for women's rights. The incredulity in the question, "What rights don't women have presently that they are marching about?" reflects a troubling disconnect that comes from power and privilege.

I have to ask myself how I can possibly expect to know Jesus as he would want to be known if my life remains unscathed by trouble and grief. How can I hope to grasp anything of God's heart for this broken planet if I never weep because its brokenness touches me and breaks my heart? How can I reflect his image if I never share in his sufferings? And how will any of us ever learn to treasure his hesed and grace if we never experience phases where these blessings seem absent?

Women's rights is an important and challenging question for us to be asking. It focuses attention on a global issue that in the wake of the 2016 presidential election reached a fever pitch and flooded city streets with pink-hatted protestors. The stakes are enormously high for women, but also for the church.