By
Clifton Angel We have learned that Adam and Eve’s
marriage was: (1) male and female, (2) united, and (3) non-disposable. Let us
consider a fourth lesson from the first marriage: It was not perfect. Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field
which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye
shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent,
We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the
tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of
it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the
woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be like God, knowing good
and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it
was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took
of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and
he did eat (Genesis 3:1–6). God
is not at fault, but man and the adversary. They sinned. The wife superseded
her role. The husband receded from his role. The husband is to be the head of
the wife (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:23), not the other way around,
and yet there will still not be perfection because we have our moments of
weakness. This is not a license to sin. However, sin is universal. “For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “If we say that
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John
1:8). Even the FIRST marriage was not perfect, and we need to tell ourselves
the truth in understanding that our marriages will not be perfect, either. Yet,
the world presses into our minds that marriage has to be perfect in order for
it to last. So many today want the "perfect" family. They feel they
are so different from others when their children do not follow in their
footsteps. I wonder how many times Eve cried, "I just wish my family was
normal!" In a decaying, dying world filled with sin, what is
"normal"? There are absolutes, and those belong to God. In a world
where it is inevitable that we age, what is perfection? Let’s stop striving for
physical perfection and strive for spiritual perfection. “But the God of all
grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye
have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.” May these truths bless your marriage and
glorify our God. |
- Clifton Angel preaches
for the Coldwater Church of Christ in Coldwater, MS. He may be contacted
through that congregation's website: http://www.coldwatercofc.com/ |
Sunday, May 7, 2023
The First Marriage (Part Four)
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