August 14, 2010
Greetings My Friend,
As I write this it is a Sunday afternoon. In Sunday school we are studying God’s design for marriage and I had a Wow moment. We started at the beginning with the creation of man and woman. God created man, and then created all the living things on the earth, under the earth, in the sea and the sky. Still no suitable helpmate was found for the man. This is the part I had never “got” before. First when Adam was created, God created him from the dust of the earth. All other creatures were spoken into being but Adam was different he was fashioned from the dirt with God’s own hand. I liked the unique way we were formed. Next when woman was created, God put Adam into a deep sleep. From Adam’s rib God created woman.
When Junior and I were married the minister talked about how woman was created from Adam’s rib, not his head to be over her or his foot for him to trample her but his rib to stand beside him. This teaching has stayed with me all these years. Junior is not more important than me and I am an equal partner in our marriage. That has felt real good to me. I was made out of the rib, the part closest to the heart. I see this as I am to watch after Junior’s heart.
As the lesson went on I learned again about how God breathed life into Adam. It is something I’ve heard a million times but today I heard more. Breathing life into Adam is like a kiss. It is intimate. As I thought on this, I realized that is a very tender moment between a man and a woman. We also discussed that prostitutes will not kiss their “johns”. They won’t because it is too personal, intimate. Again God created all creation and with man, woman He was more involved in their creation.
My mind races off in different directions. First I feel God’s love again. Since meeting Jesus, I have found the deep love I’ve sought for a lifetime. As I have allowed myself to be loved by God, I find I want to love as I am loved, to reach out to others. I think of “living water.” Living water is constantly moving and won’t go bad because it is constantly renewing itself. When I hit the roadblocks of life that at times knock me off kilter, I find when I spend time alone with God, I am renewed. I tend to spend time with God pretty much each day. Sometimes I will skip prayer time or Bible study time. Generally I try to spend time each day with both, sometimes I may skip one or the other. Still, when I am hit hard, I find myself spending even more time alone with God. It is in those moments I find a new strength to face difficulties.
I also see that God created man to be with woman and woman to be with man. That is the way He created us in the beginning. Within a few generations of the fall polygamy was the norm. As I read Scripture though, I find that to be full of strife. One of many stories comes to mind. Jacob had two wives. They were sisters and the tension between them was tremendous. There was constant rivalry and bitterness. The woman at the well was married five times and she was living with a man. Jesus told her to go and sin no more. In my heart I believe she left the man she was living with and started life in Christ. As I see it, God wants us to commit to each other as God commits to us and us to God. (If we are in with Him, His Son and have repented of our sins)
Next I see that there is a relationship with God as in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God created creation, seeking to expand relationship to us, His created. At some point life as we know it will end. God does not tell us when, in the end though we will face judgment. If we have not accepted Jesus as Savior as the Bible tells us from Genesis on, then hell is where we will go. There is eternity and we can choose where we will spend it.
I also see that marriage is a precious gift from God. Some people may never marry. Paul the Apostle never married and that is ok. Our Lord never married either. Still I find that marriage is precious, as in business there needs to be someone ultimately in charge at the “head” so to speak. Junior and I try to have God as the “head” in our marriage. Next I believe it is Junior’s role to “lead” mainly spiritually but also on occasion when we can’t come up with an answer. I see my role as helpmate. I like that, each time I “hear” that word, I feel real good inside. I stand beside Junior helping him as we move through life. If we look at the “church” Jesus is the head. We are members of the church. Some are hands, some are feet, some are ears etc. No one is more important than the other and all parts are needed. That feels real nice too.
As I come to a close my thoughts turn toward marriage again. Who is in charge of your marriage? Are you equal partners standing side by side?
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet