Daily Devotions
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Genesis 2:24
The Hebrew word for “be united” or “cleave” to his wife means “stick together like glue.” When a man and woman marry, God is joining them together in a permanent adhesive bond. He knows what is good for us. He promises to sustain us in our marriage bonds.
One could focus on the negative. If God joins man and woman together, why are so many marriages breaking up? As a society we have sown the wind and reaped the whirlwind. For generations couples have been divorcing and remarrying, and the children and grandchildren have followed suit in ever-increasing measure. Tremendous discord, emotional scars, and wounds of emptiness and bitterness have been the result. That’s sin at work.
But I would much rather focus on the positive. God takes sinful people and forgives. He provided a third partner in our marriage, His Son Jesus Christ. I can love my wife because Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. He has washed us with water through the Word and presents us to God without blemish, because He has paid the price for our sins.
With such cleaving, uniting, bonding on Christ’s part, we can cleave to each other as one flesh. I love her and she loves me. Our lifelong commitment to each other flows from His unwavering commitment to us. From the solid “one flesh” foundation comes a delight in romance, wine and roses, intimate evenings together, and the prospect of delectable surprises and adventure in our future together.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to keep my lifelong commitment to my spouse. Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one time emailing of this link to a friend. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)