A Marriage Made in Paradise

One of my favorite authors, anonymous, wrote the TOP TEN REASONS WHY GOD CREATED EVE.

10. God worried that Adam would always be lost in the garden because men hate to ask for directions.

9. God knew that Adam would one day need someone to hand him the TV remote.

8. God knew that Adam would never buy a new fig leaf when his seat wore out and would therefore need Eve to get one for him.

7. God knew that Adam would never make a doctor’s appointment for himself.

6. God knew that Adam would never remember which night was garbage night.

5. God knew that if the world was to be populated, men would never be able to handle childbearing.

4. As “Keeper of the Garden,” Adam would never remember where he put his tools.

3. The scripture account of creation indicates Adam needed someone to blame his troubles on when God caught him hiding in the garden.

2. As the Bible says, “It is not good for man to be alone!”

1. When God finished the creation of Adam, He stepped back, scratched His head and said, “I can do better than that.” 

Well, God knew that a man needed a good woman.  

Each day following creation, God said, “it is good.” However on the sixth day He said it is not good.  Not good for man to be alone.  So the scripture says He made Adam a helper suitable for him.  Then the Genesis text tells us what happened. 

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.  

And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”  

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  

Yesterday I read this text in a setting similar to this original marriage.  It was a small party.  Just the immediate family.  It was an outdoor wedding in beautiful natural site (Fort DeSoto Park). God was present.  And so were the animals! 

I shared with this young couple the value of a Christ centered marriage. Their mutual interests are not enough.  The most important element that will provide a long-lasting bond and bind their marriage is Jesus. Before they took their vows, I shared three vital aspects about marriage. 

1. Marriage is a life-time commitment (Matt 19:1-9).  From the beginning God intended  marriage to be for life. And Jesus emphasized it was so. 

2. Marriage is about love.  Not infatuation.  Not carnal love. Not worldly love.  But God’s love.  Divine love. Holy love.  Love as defined by the Bible (1 Cor 13). 

3. Marriage is about living, learning and leading (Eph. 5:22-32).  Living for the Lord.  Learning mutual submission and serving each other’s needs.  Leading as Christ led.  Lovingly.  Tenderly.  Sacrificially. 

I care deeply about this couple. I feel invested in them.  More so than any couple that I’ve married in a long time.  I pray for their success. For their home. For their love to grow deeper. Fuller.  Richer.  You see they are special.  Yesterday I officiated the marriage of our daughter, Rachél, to Jared Thompson.  

May God bless you both.  Your mother and I love you very much! 

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman