Genesis
2:18-25
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.”
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. 25 And the
man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
From my teenage years and into young adulthood, I was on a passionate search to find “The One”. Every time I found myself attracted to a young woman I’d contemplate “is she the one? Could she be my soul-mate?” Finding true love was a pursuit I committed myself to. During that romantic chase I wrestled with all kinds of questions: What characteristics should I be looking for in a woman? How do I know if she’s the one? And so on. My goal was to find Mrs. Right, get married and live happily ever after. I know there are many who perhaps can relate to that or maybe that even describes where you are in life right now. Regardless, I want to share something that completely changed my perspective of what makes someone an ideal match for someone else and what the goal of marriage is.
While
I was in college I remember talking to my older sister. I was at place where I
was dealing with a lot of regret and wrestling with the
questions of what I should be looking for in a woman as my calling in life toward vocational ministry was
becoming clearer. I can’t say that I remember everything she said verbatim, but I remember she told me how she was praying for me.
She told me that she prayed that, if it was God’s will, He would provide a bride who
would make me better at what I’m called to do in ways that I couldn’t be
without her. My sister’s ultimate goal
for me wasn’t just for me to find a wife, but that I would fulfill God’s
calling for my life. That priority of
desire was pretty revolutionary for me. My sister’s wise words helped to
realize that I was ultimately placing my pursuit of a wife at a higher priority
than faithfully pursuing God and what He was calling me to do.
For
those of us who are Christians, who right now are passionately seeking for “the
one”, we need to honestly examine ourselves. Are we seeking for a companion
more than we are seeking God Himself and His will for our lives? Beyond
that, my sister’s words were the first part of changing my perspective of marriage to be more biblical. I started
looking at passages of scripture relating to marriage like
Genesis 2:18-25 in a new light. I began to see a purpose God had intended for marriage that I
wasn’t aware of before. Marriage was
intended to help us accomplish the calling God has for each of us. God created Eve to be a suitable “helper” or “help-mate”
for Adam.
Notice,
up until that point, Adam was just doing the work that God told Him to do. In
Adam’s case, it was being the official caretaker of the Garden of Eden. God
knew that, in order for Adam to carry out his calling in life, he was going to
need someone to complement him. Someone who would support him and ultimately be
a vessel of God’s encouragement, accountability and strength to fully equip
Adam for the task God had given him. Someone who would make Adam better at what
he was called to do in ways he otherwise would never be.
Typically,
in our pursuit of romance or true love we are seeking a “soul-mate”. Someone
who we think will ultimately fulfill the void in our hearts for intimacy,
companionship, and love. Someone who will satisfy our core needs. So, we view
marriage as being primarily about our satisfaction or happiness. That’s not
what’s presented here. The ultimate purpose of marriage fits with the vision
God has established for all of creation: to accomplish His will and glorify His
Name.
Marriage is one way that God equips us for the good works He’s prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Marriage is meant to help with the work of glorifying God and sanctifying or making us holy, which are two main objectives of the Christian life. Getting married was never meant to be our main focus, or our source of ultimate fulfillment. Nope, that spot is reserved for God Himself. When we align our priorities with that and understand God’s helpful purpose for marriage, is serves us in a number of ways.
1) It keeps our eyes on the ultimate prize: God Himself.
2)It prevents us from placing unrealistic expectations on our spouses
3) It pushes us to pursue God first and foremost, trusting that He will provide a spouse for us when having a “helper” is necessary for us to do the work God has for us.
Marriage is one way that God equips us for the good works He’s prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Marriage is meant to help with the work of glorifying God and sanctifying or making us holy, which are two main objectives of the Christian life. Getting married was never meant to be our main focus, or our source of ultimate fulfillment. Nope, that spot is reserved for God Himself. When we align our priorities with that and understand God’s helpful purpose for marriage, is serves us in a number of ways.
1) It keeps our eyes on the ultimate prize: God Himself.
2)It prevents us from placing unrealistic expectations on our spouses
3) It pushes us to pursue God first and foremost, trusting that He will provide a spouse for us when having a “helper” is necessary for us to do the work God has for us.
I
believe that God’s provision of a spouse and direction in life for those of us
still searching for “the one” flows right out of His promise in Matthew 6:33:
33 But seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness, and all these
things will be added to you.
If we focus on the Kingdom work God has for us,
as the need arises, in His perfect timing, God will provide. Our task is to
seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness.