Within the passages of Genesis Chapters One and Two there are some key statements that God makes which directly influence our marriages. Each of these passages will be touched on throughout our experience together. For now, let’s take some time and look at these statements and how they relate to us as couples.
A Statement of Image
Now, imagine just what God is saying here. Mankind was to be made in the very image of God. He does not say this about any other part of creation. In man there was going to be something special. Man was not evolved out of some lesser life form; God took the dust of the ground and formed man. God breathed into man the breath of life; giving to man an eternal soul. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” [Psalm 139:14] Within this statement there are two truths that we must learn.
In His Image – The word used for God’s image here literally means to be in His likeness. Now in this we find a challenge. You are created to be holy and Godly in your behavior and attitudes. How do you treat others, is it God-like? How do you treat yourself, is it God-like? Your attitudes? How about your lifestyle?
If we are called to be in the image of God and to be like Him, then it is imperative that we understand and get a mental picture of who God is and what His character is like. When we explore the descriptive words the Apostle John gives us concerning God we find that He is “light and in Him is no darkness at all.” [1 John 1:5] In Scripture, light is used to describe holiness and the absence of the darkness of sin. To be created in His likeness is to be created to “walk in the light as He is in the light.” [1 John 1:7] John goes on to say that “God is love.” [1 John 4:8] His description of the love of God is one of sacrifice and hope. In the midst of our failure, God still loves us. Perhaps we should remember that when our spouses fail us. And the third picture of God is that He is “eternal life.” [1 John 5:20] Now think about this for a second: God is life, without Him we would have nothing. Look at the life God offers to you, and live it. We are to be agents of the hope of life lived to the fullest. God is life abundant and filled with joy. When was the last time you were an agent of the fullness of joy in your home? This picture of being in the image of God, of being Godly, was made very obvious to me some years ago in the following story.
He Created Them – The last part of Genesis 1:27 presents us with a key point that we sometimes forget in our marriages. God did not just create the man Adam in His image. God created both the male and the female in His image. What makes this statement important is that when we look at our spouse we are challenged to see them not just as our mate, but someone who God created in His image. We will discuss this concept in future posts a bit more deeply. What we need to understand at this point is that your spouse was created in the image of God and is to be treated as such. We talk about sin being when we rebel against God’s call in our lives. If this is true, then when we rebel against and mistreat our spouse, we are also in sin. Why? It is because God created that person in His image. Also, inherent in this statement is the reality that in the greater scope of creation these two were equals, both created in the image of God.
In our next post we are going to continue our look at the statments that God made concerning our need
for that person we call spouse.
No comments:
Post a Comment