“When Eve was brought unto Adam, he became filled with the Holy Spirit, and gave her the most sanctified, the most glorious of appellations. He called her Eva, that is to say, the Mother of All. He did not style her wife, but simply mother, mother of all living creatures. In this consists the glory and the most precious ornament of woman.”
Martin Luther
For more Martin Luther quotes see these posts:
What Martin Luther Said About Women
I was recently watching a television program about therapy. A therapist was counseling a married couple. He told them that he observed that their relationship had started with a great deal of passion, and that they were still passionate people. However, passion was not enough to sustain a lifelong relationship. “What is enough?” inquired the wife. The therapist’s reply– “I don’t know.”
I’m not trained in this field, but I do know the answer to the question: God. God is the component that makes it possible for two flawed and sinful human beings to remain faithful to one another for life. Listen to these words from Ecclesiastes:
” Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
In case you haven’t thought about it, the third strand in the cord is God. God did not mean for us to be alone. In Genesis we read:
“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18
The helper God gave Adam was needed to complete him–to make him whole. Adam acknowledges this saying,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Genesis 2:23-24
When something becomes part of your very being, it is not meant to be removed. Parting is an amputation of sorts. This kind of relationship was possible for Adam and Eve because their relationship with one another started with and was based upon their relationship with God. Sin changed things, but the foundation remains. To love one another, we must love God and ground ourselves in Him. That’s the way it can last. That’s enough.
For more on marriage see these posts:
Marriage: A School for Forgiveness
Once upon a time . . .
when humanity was young, and quite innocent; they lived in a place of unimaginable beauty and endless possibility. And then humanity was deceived. We failed to trust our creator, and though the lie was not ours, the doubt and greed fully belong to us. The rejection was not of the place, the food, or the vast kingdom that in inheritance belonged to us as well. The rejection was power and love our Father and Lord possessed. We rejected Him.
What was not known in the dawn of time was that with the failure of trust, blinded by greed and naivety, revelations would be made. The tree of knowledge of Good, and Evil. The name says as much as it implies. Before what would they have known? Neither good nor Evil. The infinite wisdom of God would be too much for them to bear. A better way is to slowly introduce information, to take eternity and explain and teach. God wanted to show us the universe while building a relationship.
From the very beginning it was Him who loved us more. Suddenly, too suddenly, we knew what worse than bad was. We knew shame, and embarrassment, and lust. We knew regret, and sadness, and fear. We were overwhelmed.
Still God our Father loved us. For our own sakes, he removed us from Heaven. People without self-discipline tend to ruin good things. Not to mention Everlasting Life (The tree of Life) combined with Irrational, self-destructive sin would be disastrous. Therefore, we were separated. How painful that was. Not only for us, but for God. The Alpha and Omega that feels anguish as well as joy. Can you imagine first being rejected by your children, and then having to remove them from the situation to protect them? Maybe some can, because all this resulted in a broken world. A world that for our own sakes requires a barrier of sorts.
Luke 16:26 “And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”
Not only between heaven and hell, but between heaven and earth. It’s a burden we must bear. Although Christ came so that we can eventually see our heavenly home, we mustn’t risk it with open borders. Narrow is the road. While we have hope of seeing not only our loved ones but also our merciful Savior, there’s still a gap. A lonely realization that we are to suffer here till our time comes. As Christians, it’s not that we don’t believe in a better, very real, life that exists beyond our reach; it’s that we cannot follow where they go. It’s the harsh separation that stares us in the face. Our despair comes with the knowledge that these bodies we inhabit must endure here for a time.
Philippians 1:21&22 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”
The End?
“And the Lord commanded the man, saying: ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’….So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” Genesis 2:16-3:6
Disobedience is almost as old as humankind. God created Adam and Eve and gave them only one restriction — do not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. One commandment and almost immediately they disobey it!
Why? The serpent sows doubt in Eve’s mind. Maybe God didn’t really mean what He said; maybe she misunderstood Him; maybe God has some ulterior motive that is for His benefit, not hers. Plus, the fruit really looked good, and she was hungry.
Nothing has really changed. I know at times I apply the same faulty reasoning that Eve did. It’s hard to discern God’s will; times have changed, and some of God’s rules seem outdated and unnecessary; that sin is really attractive, and I don’t see how it would hurt me; and the big one — can I really trust God?
I think it all boils down to trust. The Bible tells us:
“…for those who love God all things work together for good, …”Romans 8:29
If we trust in this promise, we’ll try to obey God’s rules. They are given to us for our benefit. The things that seem unclear, that seem unreasonable, that deprive us of what looks good or feels pleasurable will only hurt us in the long run. Of course, like our first parents, we’ll still disobey. We’ll fall short. We’ll miss the mark. God provided for that, too.
“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness (Christ’s) leads to justification and life for all men.” Romans 5:18
Disobedience started in the garden; it’s results ended in Christ. Trust God who works all things for our good.
I couldn’t let the month go by without at least one book recommendation, so here goes.
While on vacation I have been reading, A Touch of Freedom-Meditations of Freedom in Christ, by Charles Stanley. It’s a 30 day devotional on the subject of freedom. Each devotion includes a Bible verse, meditation by Dr. Stanley, and a photograph(also taken by Dr. Stanley). For those of us who are more visual, this is a real bonus.
Here’s a quote from a devotion entitled Maximum Freedom:
“Whereas our world teaches us that freedom is gained through throwing off all restraint, the Scriptures teach that the opposite is true. Human being forfeited a great deal of their freedom in their attempt to gain absolute freedom. As we begin to put two and two together, it becomes increasingly clear that freedom is gained and maintained by adherence to God’s laws. Just as a good father sets loving limitations for his children, so the heavenly Father sets moral and ethical perimeters for us.”
The meditation makes the point that in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, God gave man maximum freedom. There was only one rule to follow: other than that, the man and woman were totally free to enjoy themselves in loving relationships with each other and God. When they broke that rule they became much less free—now they were slaves to sin and death.
If you want to spend more time in God’s word meditating about freedom, this book is a good choice. Let us know if you like it.
Lutheran Ladies Connection 