Genesis 2:18-24
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed 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. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So 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. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then 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.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
This describes God's intention for our relationships. It is not good for us to be alone, we need each other. Furthermore, man is designed to be with woman, and woman with man. We may get frustrated with each other, but we were designed to be in relationship. Our sexual drive is in many ways a drive for connectedness. Unfortunately there has been much abuse in the male-female relationship, and one of the roots of sexual and gender dysfunction is a hatred or antipathy toward the opposite sex. But God's intention is that such relationships can bring blessing and wholeness to the individuals. We need to learn to value the opposite (or complementary) sex: they are not sexual objects or inferior or evil, but rather are God's children and designed by God to help us.
Lord, I confess to often viewing others not as Your wonderful creation, but as objects for my pleasure. Help me to see others as You see them, and to appreciate the uniqueness of my spouse.
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed 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. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So 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. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then 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.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
This describes God's intention for our relationships. It is not good for us to be alone, we need each other. Furthermore, man is designed to be with woman, and woman with man. We may get frustrated with each other, but we were designed to be in relationship. Our sexual drive is in many ways a drive for connectedness. Unfortunately there has been much abuse in the male-female relationship, and one of the roots of sexual and gender dysfunction is a hatred or antipathy toward the opposite sex. But God's intention is that such relationships can bring blessing and wholeness to the individuals. We need to learn to value the opposite (or complementary) sex: they are not sexual objects or inferior or evil, but rather are God's children and designed by God to help us.
Lord, I confess to often viewing others not as Your wonderful creation, but as objects for my pleasure. Help me to see others as You see them, and to appreciate the uniqueness of my spouse.