Day 15 – Genesis 2:22-25

²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. ²³ The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” ²⁴ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. ²⁵ The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.^[1]

What is God’s intention and plan for marriage? Marriage as an institution has become so diluted that God’s purpose and plan for it has been lost. It has become so trivialized that people jump from marriage to marriage almost as if they are playing a children’s game. God had and still has a plan for marriage that has existed from creation. It is to provide companionship. It is to be a committed, exclusive relationship. It is a lifelong partnership. It is the intended context for raising children. It is the exclusive context for sexual fulfillment and pleasure.

I know, first hand, the difficulties of marriage. I know how seemingly impossible it is at times to faithfully walk out God’s purpose, and yet our circumstances do not negate them. The marriage between Adam and Eve in the Garden was and is the ideal. Adam was euphoric when he first saw Eve. God had taken away a part of him, but now presents it back to him in the person of Eve and they become one flesh. Their love for one another was pure. There was no shame even as they faced each other naked. But their innocence was not to last. The enemy got into their relationship and not only destroyed their utopia and nearly their union, but has made our marriages difficult ever since.

We cannot forget that marriage is first and foremost a divine institution. God instituted it and ordained and anything that God institutes the enemy of our souls seeks to come against it. Certainly we know that enemy cannot do anything to us, or our marriages, that we do not allow, but the myriad distractions around us with their enticing temptations put almost too much pressure on a marriage for couples to bear. As a result many couples decide to opt out of marriage seeing it as a useless institution. Other couples accept the failure of so many couples as just a normal part of life that one should expect and not be surprised by. But I want to lobby today for a return to God’s intent and plan for marriage. I want to encourage couples to do the hard work of working through their struggles. Does it take two? Yes! Will it be easy? No! But that is why we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit, to aid and assist us in our weaknesses.

Dear Father, thank you for the institution of marriage. We confess that our marriages are far from Your ideal. We are demanding and selfish. We seek our own welfare and not that of our spouse. We are distracted and tempted by carnal pleasures. We want what others seem to have more than we desire what you want for us. We are quick to surrender under fire and often lack the willingness to do the hard work necessary to overcome. Forgive us today for our failure to live according to Your intent and purpose. Speak to us and make us passionate for relationships that honor and glorify You. Amen.