“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone;
I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Genesis 2:18).
Have you thought of the implications of these words of our God? Adam was living in the Garden of Eden. It was literally a paradise. Everything was perfect. Not just by human standards but by God’s standards. “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Everything must have been exquisitely beautiful—more beautiful than we can even imagine.
And Adam had it all to himself. He had everything the perfect world had to offer. What a life!
Yet what do we read? God said, “It is not good…” Something was missing—something so important that without it Adam’s life was incomplete. So what was not good? “…that man should be alone.” He didn’t have anyone with whom to share all the goodness of God.
…Eve was the
GREATEST EARTHLY BLESSING
that God gave to Adam.
Without her, life was not good.
With her, His life was complete.
But God had a solution for this problem. He said, “I will make a helper comparable to him [Adam].” That was Eve whom God then created and
gave to Adam as his wife. Now his life was complete, more wonderful than before.
So when you think about it, Eve was the GREATEST EARTHLY BLESSING that God gave to Adam. Without her, life was not good. With her, his life was complete. If anything else was missing, it would not have had the same impact. And the same could be said for Eve. Adam was the greatest earthly blessing that God had given for her life in this world.
Isn’t the same true for us today? Has God given you a husband or a wife? Then consider that he or she is the greatest earthly blessing that God has given you.
Remember that, and thank God for your spouse daily. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Cherish her as your most special possession. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). Thank God for him and respect him as the great gift that he is intended to be.
Now, if we still lived in Paradise, it would be easy for husband and wife to love, honor, and cherish each other perfectly at all times. But, of course, we are all sinners. Therefore we who are married do not always live up to the standard of being the greatest earthly blessing for our spouse. It is not that God is giving any less of a blessing, but by our sinfulness we make ourselves less of a blessing to each other. Sad to say, in many marriages sin is such an obstacle that some begin to think their spouse is a curse instead of a blessing.
Because we are all sinners, we also need God’s greatest spiritual blessing–Jesus Christ who died to take away our sins to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus came not just to teach us how to love one another again but to solve the problem of our sins and sinfulness. He gave His life in our stead to take away God’s curse upon our sins.
With God’s forgiveness we have what we need to overcome all problems in marriage. We learn to forgive one another and love one another even as God loves us and has forgiven us.
As husband and wife grow together in faith and love for God by regular worship, family devotions, and praying together, God’s Spirit will also fill their hearts more and more with a genuine, enduring love for one another.
So thank God for your spouse even as you strive to be the spouse that God intends.