In this charming story, God creates man from clay and creates everything else for his enjoyment. Yet something is missing. A solitary human being is incomplete, and even the most special pet cannot make up for it. In the end, God takes a piece of the man’s own flesh and makes a partner who complements him perfectly.
When he is presented with God’s handiwork, Adam is awe-struck. He immediately recognizes that this creature is able to fill the void he has been feeling, and he cries out: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23).
Adam knows that he doesn’t need a yes-man, someone to echo his thoughts and carry out his plans. No, he recognizes Eve as “flesh of his flesh” and yet delight-fully different from himself. As every husband and wife will attest, that difference can be mystifying and frustrating at times. But the love they experience for each other tells them that with patient observation and intimate conversation, they can grow to understand each other more and more—and their love can grow deeper and deeper.
While this passage has much to teach us about the joys and blessings of marriage, it tells us just as much about the joys and blessings of friendship. God didn’t intend for us to live in isolation. No, he created us for relationship.
So treasure your friendships. Cherish your husband or wife. Of course they are not exactly like you. That’s part of the beauty of relationships. God gives us people whose strengths complement our weaknesses. He gives us friends who help us stay honest with ourselves so that we don’t get caught in a trap of self-congratulation. The moment we let our differences overshadow our love for each other is the moment we need to change our thinking and recall the gift that they are to us.
May we always let our love for each other cover the flaws we think we see. Remember: It is not good for us to be alone!
“Father, thank you for placing other people in my life. Help me to see you in their faces, and teach me how to share myself with them.”
Psalm 128:1-5; Mark 7:24-30