Pentecost 19

Genesis 2.18-25

Hymns: 506, 505, 492, 504

In order to understand our relationship with God, we need to speak about life in idealistic terms. We need to do that because life on earth once was what we wish it were now...sinless and perfect. And life one day will once again return to what it was when Jesus returns to create a "new heaven and new earth, wherein dwells righteousness." God created the ideal world; two human beings destroyed that ideal world; God will restore the ideal world, or at least, an ideal place which we call heaven where there will once again be no sin, sorrow or death.

We now find ourselves living in between these two idealistic worlds, the world God created and the world God will restore. And this world is anything but idealistic. But God tells us, yes, demands of us that we live in a way that can make this world as idealistic as possible, as sinless and perfect as possible. "Love your enemies," Jesus tells us. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart...and love your neighbor as yourself," God’s law de-mands. "Be honest...don’t steal...don’t be selfish or immoral... be generous...be kind and caring...do everything I want you to do because I am the Lord your God." Just because we are now sinful human beings is no excuse for sinning and incapable of being perfect and living perfect lives and having perfect thoughts. It’s the reason why we sin but it’s no excuse. Nor do we as Christians use our having been conceived and born in sin as an excuse for being sinners. We don’t like it; we wish we were sinless. We are thankful that Jesus paid for our sins and doesn’t hold us accountable for the guilt of sin and for that reason want to try to live sinlessly even though we know we won’t succeed on this side of heaven. (Rom 7.15-17).

So we are going to speak in idealistic terms this morning about living in such a way that we are a reflection of life, perfect life as God created it and as God will restore it. LEARN FROM ADAM AND EVE ABOUT MARRIAGE.

Our text takes us to the day when God established marriage. It was a perfect world. God had already created everything there is including man, Adam. One thing was missing; a corresponding helper for Adam...as God planned. God had already told Adam that he was to spend time taking care of the plants and animals, that he was to be planet’s caretaker and custodian (rule over the fish of the sea and birds of the air). God gave Adam the opportunity to put his human authority and intelligence to work; he gave him the task of giving names to all the animals, which he did. The animals did not choose what names they wanted for themselves; they did not submit suggestions to Adam, nor did Adam provide a few choices for them to pick which name each species liked the best. These were dumb animals; Adam was an intelligent human being. Neither Adam nor any other intelligent human being evolved from a dumb animal.

Perhaps during the task of animal-naming Adam realized that there was no corresponding human being to whom to give a name. He knew there was rooster/hen, cow/bull, male/ female in the animal kingdom. But...no female counter-part for him...

Until God said, (v 18). And after God made a woman from Adam’s rib, and Adam awoke out of an unconscious state, he saw what God had made and gave her a name, "Woman; a part of me; a class of person that was given life from my body." And God brought her to the man and the first marriage was established: man and woman, leader and partner.

This was a perfect marriage. They got along with God because they never sinned. They got along with each other because they never sinned. Their only desire was to please God and show him how thankful they were for life, for each other, for the world he gave them. Their only desire was to make each other happy and show each other how thankful they were that God brought them together in marriage. How do you do that when you’re perfect... make each other happy all the time? Wouldn’t you like to know husbands...wives? They never got on each other’s nerves, never had to apologize for being critical or impatient or unloving, never had to bite their tongue to keep from saying what they were sinfully thinking, never used the word ‘divorce.’

But then that changed. When Satan engaged Eve in casual con-versation about how God was keeping something from them, and wouldn’t it be nice if they were as wise as God and knew good and evil, and all they had to do was eat from the tree God jealously didn’t want them to eat from, everything changed. In my mind, I imagine Eve and Satan in eye contact when he directed her attention to the Tree of Knowledge. In my mind I see Eve turn to Adam to make eye contact as if to say, "What do you think? Should we...?" In my mind I see them both walking to the Tree and eating that fruit before an overwhelming feeling of guilt rushed through their bodies, their face tingled with a blush of guilt...and in horror they turned and ran and hid...until God found them...and questioned them...and they squirmed and lied as their minds raced in disbelief because they both knew what they had done and what God said he would do and they desperately tried to escape God’s punishment as their own guilty mind was punishing them with fear and terror.

God promised he would rescue them from their guilt. He promised that one who would crush Satan’s head would also be crushed under the guilt and punishment of sin...Jesus died on a cross, crushed in his heel in pain for us to forgive us and at the same time to destroy sin and Satan and death.

And now we live on this planet 6000 years after the perfect world was ruined by sin, 2000 years after the sinful world was saved from sin by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Now we live in marriage and families trying to be ideal husbands and wives and parents and children. How is it working?

Husbands, Adam failed Eve; when their eyes met as if to say, "Should we?" Adam consented to sin by his silence, failed his leadership role, failed to give the love and security to Eve that God expected of him. Husbands, don’t fail your wives (I say this to myself). Be the loving leader God expects you to be; give her the spiritual and emotional and physical presence she needs from you as Adam had been giving to Eve before sin. Strive to be an ideal husband, strive to be the kind of man you will be when you are in heaven, perfect, unselfish, a servant leader (though no longer in a husband’s role).

Wives, Eve failed Adam; when their eyes met as if to say, "Should we?" Eve suggested that they should sin against God; she failed to be guided by what God said, failed to support Adam in the leadership role he was to carry out. Wives, don’t fail your husbands; support them in their servant-leader role. Remind them if need be of what God expects of them as the spiritual, emotional and physical head of your family. Support them as their corresponding helpers by trusting in them as you love and trust in Jesus your Savior (Eph 5).

Above all, strive for idealism...use your faith and love in Jesus to motivate you to be the kind of husband and wife Adam and Eve were before they Fall, strive to be what you will be when you are in heaven...strive to live and be as God would have you fill your identity as husband and wife, as members of Christian families who love Jesus because of his love and forgiveness.