Becoming One

05/27/2010

Good Morning!

Genesis 2:18-24 (English Standard Version)
18Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for[a] him." 19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed[b] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam[c] there was not found a helper fit for him. 21So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made[d] into a woman and brought her to the man. 23Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man."[e]
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Footnotes:
a. Genesis 2:18 Or corresponding to; also verse 20
b. Genesis 2:19 Or And out of the ground the LORD God formed
c. Genesis 2:20 Or the man
d. Genesis 2:22 Hebrew built
e. Genesis 2:23 The Hebrew words for woman (ishshah) and man (ish) sound alike


I was going to save this until Friday … but I was afraid that I would get caught up into doing too many things tomorrow and forget to write what I had to say to my grandson Cody and his bride Marquee. Cody and Marquee are getting married Friday afternoon at 3 PM. Mawmaw and I are extremely happy for them and look forward to seeing them grow together as one.

From my perspective, verse 24 is the important part of this passage from Genesis – especially the last four words: “they shall become one flesh.” In my opinion, too many marriages today never get to the point where husband and wife become one – a unit working together for a common good. No – to often territories are staked out – the me, my and mine attitude still dominates. I believe that successful marriage come from the understanding that the me becomes we, the my and mine become ours. That doesn’t mean anyone surrenders their identity but that compromise becomes the norm rather than the exception – and caring for one another’s viewpoint becomes a daily habit. This change won’t happen immediately – it takes time and patience and, most importantly, love for each other.

To me, the most important part of a successful marriage is one’s relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus teaches us to love one another – actually He commands it. He teaches us forgiveness – a big part of any marital relationship. He teaches us to care about each other. So, my prayer for my grandson and my soon to be granddaughter is that they will continue to grow in Christ. I wish the same for each of my readers.

Agape’

Mr. Jim
Fatdad5@comcast.net
"Preach the Gospel everyday - and if you have to, use words" ... St. Francis of Assisi