For Husband and Wife ( Day 1 of 18 )
JUST SHARING (from the “Couple’s Devotional Bible”)
This article’s author: Tim Stafford
Bible Passage: Genesis 1:1-31
Key Verse: Genesis 1:27
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
The Bible’s first marriage story (Genesis 1-2) begins, like all love stories, with a problem. The chapter reverberates with the regular drumbeat of “good” as God creates the universe. But then something is unsatisfactory. Having made Adam, God discovered something “not good” (Genesis 2:18). God’s society was inadequate for Adam; he needed the company of another creature. So God made a partner for Adam – Eve – and presented her to him.
Adam’s reaction was immediate and passionate. “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” In effect, Adam exclaimed, “This one is family!” He was attracted because he felt kinship.
Sometimes it is claimed that marriage offers intimate possibilities because of the differences between the sexes – the way in which male and female, as opposites, complement each other. Genesis brings a very different emphasis: It was because of their similar make-up, not because of their differences, that they were able to become intimate partners.
No code of behavior could produce this; it was a gift from God. Something of God is seen in the unashamed nakedness of Adam and Eve. As Adam could delight in Eve because she was like him, so God finds particular delight in this man and woman because together they are like him. There is fellowship among the three. They feel mutual kinship, and they delight in one another.
MARRIAGE BUILDERS
• You are probably well aware of your differences. But what are some of the ways you are similar?
• How have your differences and similarities strengthened your marriage?
Additional Scripture Readings: Genesis 2:15-25; Proverbs 5:18; Song of Songs 2:3-4
