Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

Faith Formulation in the Family


Sarah Jacob
Long Island MTC, NY
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” 

From the very beginning of time we can see that God has given man the opportunity to make important decisions for future generations.  In the context  of Genesis 2: 19-20 we read that God brought forward all living creatures to Adam so that he would name them as he saw appropriate.  One may even think that while this naming process was occurring, Adam was trying to see if he would find company and a partner with these creatures, but alas, the Bible tells us that he did not. 

In this portion it is not mentioned that Adam verbally expressed his loneliness and lack of companionship to God, yet these feelings were known to Him.  God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep so that He could provide a solution by performing a “Divine Surgery”.  Out of this surgery came Adam’s perfect helper and companion, the end to his loneliness.   Verse 23 shows us Adam’s reaction to seeing Eve - “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”  We should take note of Adam’s response to the woman, especially because it was not a sense of domination over the woman because of his gender.  Instead, he was in awe of the magnificent creation which was taken from his own body and purely done by the hands of God.  God was well aware that man could only handle limited responsibilities on his own and that his emotional needs could only be solved by creating another human just like Adam.

As Mathew Henry states in his commentary about this Bible passage, “From God are all our helpers.  If we rest in God, He will work all for good.”  The excerpts above describe how God provided Adam his love and helper made from his own ribs and flesh.  In our everyday lives we may not encounter the same exact scenario but we will be faced with situations where we may feel alone and incomplete.  The important thing to remember is that God will always provide us what we need in His perfect timing.

God provided Adam with someone who would complement him and fulfill the responsibilities he may not be able to.  In marriage and family life you can see this scenario as one person is not always able to do everything to meet the demands of life.  One parent may not be able to play the motherly and fatherly role to nurture their child.

When we think of faith initiation in the family, we often think of the parent’s role in developing the faith of our children. We should always remember that God created Adam and Eve for each other before they became parents. This is a reminder that our marriages should be used to initiate and strengthen the faith of our spouses as well. 


PRAYER


Father, thank you for giving us loving families. We pray that we can be a blessings to each person in our family. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
"but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

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