Well, it’s another day closer to Friday and I thank God for it. Another Friday is coming, Lord….Another Friday which means the week is coming to an end and I can’t wait. On the weekends, I can snuggle closer in bed with my husband. On the weekends, I don’t have to worry what time I go to bed, therefore, I can sit up talking to my husband about all of our dreams of the future, demands of our present, and joys and heartache of our yesterdays. On the weekends, I get to be a part of what the Lord calls for in marriage – oneness.
Oneness is such a great word to describe what happens when someone marries. Who doesn’t want someone who wants to be a part of them? I mean, look, if you got married then there must have been some longing for another person to be a part of your life – you just couldn’t let that person live without you, could you? But, God in His infinite wisdom looks at oneness a little different.
God, who established marriage when He hooked up Adam with Eve, decided that marriage is a fusing of one flesh with another or even better, one spirit with another. In Genesis 2:24, God says after marrying Adam and Eve that “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
Cleave means to adhere firmly, closely or loyally, and unwaveringly. But, it also means its opposite which is to penetrate or pass through something by or as if by cutting. Get this! Your spouse is there to cling to you like there is no tomorrow but also to penetrate to your very core or rather cut you and make you bleed for God’s glory.
Ok, so what! Thank you for making my day, Lord! Why would I or anyone want someone to cut me? Who wants to bleed? Doesn’t bleeding cause death? I can understand having someone who is loyal to me and wants to hold me close. I just love those hugs and holding closeness and the cuddling and the…. (Sorry – I digress). But to cut me, that is just too much to ask of someone.
Of course, again, God says it is not. God has our spouse in our life to push us closer to His calling for our lives. Our spouse is to lift and encourage us, pray for us, and be utilized as the tool God uses to prune us – so that the stuff in our lives that binds, infects, and keep us from achieving true freedom in our walk with God can be surgically removed by the Doctor, God. Yes, child of God, He wants a death to occur – all that me stuff that’s not of Him.
Interesting, this whole oneness things is not lost on the world but on us who claim we are Christians. When you go to the bank for a loan, they will pull a credit report that will be cross-referenced with your spouses even without you telling them you are married. When you file taxes, it’s a requirement to file married, jointly or married, separately. And, when you are setting up or making changes to a retirement account, written spousal permission must be given to make changes or it’s null and void. We are always trying to do things independently – it’s my money, my house, my car, my… my… my…
Oneness is necessary to show others the image of God. Understand that marriage is God’s first battle formation and oneness is necessary to defeat Satan’s attack on the kingdom of God. Know that oneness is needed to accomplish all that God has planned for marriages in this world. And guess what? God wants to bless the married and for that oneness is necessary.
You know, I really want all those blessings God has for me. So, since the weekend is here, I am going to enjoy being one with my husband (I would enjoy this anyway because he is so perfect for me) instead of chasing after other things. And, because of all that and a bag of chips, tee-shirt, and a hat, I THANK YOU GOD!!!
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song,” Psalms 28:7
