Made for Relationships

"Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.'" -Genesis 2.18

I love words, and over time my favorite word changes. Most recently my favorite word was "recluse". I'm an introverted individual, I can handle people and crowds in small amounts or infrequently, but afterwards I need solitary time to recoup. And if I'm honest, part of me really loves the idea of getting a piece of ground in the middle of the wilderness and starting a homestead, away from just about everyone else. My wife would be coming of course, and I'd do my best to try and get a couple of my closest guy friends to come along and homestead with me.

The introvert in me loves the idea, but knowing that at least two of my closest guy friends would never go homesteading makes me reconsider. And then there is this verse from Genesis, "It is not good for the man to be alone". When God said this Adam was the only man on earth. He alone bears the full image of God. And while he has the companionship of every animal, including man's best friend, it wasn't enough. God, who exists in community and relationship, made us to live that way as well.

And so God makes the man fall into a deep sleep, and removes the female characteristics of God from Adam, and forms a woman. The man is joined to his wife and they become one. The relationship of a man and woman in marriage shows the full heart of God with both the masculine and feminine natures of God's image. But as any married man knows, you need relationships outside of your marriage.

I love my wife more than anyone else in the world, but there are times when I just need to be around other guys. We weren't made to do this alone; we were made for masculine fellowship. No man was meant to be a permanent recluse. Yes, there are times we need to be alone and focus on our most crucial relationship, man with his Creator, but we aren't meant to stay solitary. God Himself said, "It is not good for the man to be alone", and since God makes good things, He makes a woman, and in the woman comes offspring, others to have relationships with.

We were made for relationships, don't ignore them, don't neglect them. Embrace them, invest in them.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Breath of Life

"Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." -Genesis 2.7

The more I think about this, the more it amazes me. God forms man from the dust of the ground, and then breathes into him the breath of life. Then, and only then, does man become a living being. I'm not the first one to share this thought, but the name of God is the sound of our breathing. Our lives depend on us being able to praise God, and speak His name.

The ancient Rabbis believed that the name of God was unspeakable because it was literally the sound of breathing. Every breath we take declares the name of our creator. For a baby to start to live, it must begin to say the name of God, and when we can no longer say the name of God we die. God is the source of life, and apart from Him life cannot exist.

Every breath we take declares the name of God, whether we know it or not. Whether we believe it or not. Whether we live like it or not. Every breath we take is fully dependent upon God. And every breath whispers His name. Man has a unique privilege, we were formed by God in His own image, and the Bible only tells us that God breathed the breath of life into man. We are to mirror Him, and proclaim Him, to all of creation. What does your life show?

Every breath declares God, but does your life mirror Him? Does your life reflect and glorify the one who gave it to you?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Authority and Goodness

"Then God said... and it was so... and God saw that it was good."

Over and over in Genesis 1 we see these phrases. Something isn't right, God sees it, fixes it, and makes it good. This is how God works. He brings chaos to order, death to life, darkness to light. Everything He touches is made better, and it is made good. God does nothing half way, and man is made in the image of God.

We have been placed over creation to care for it, God has given us authority over the world He has made. It has been given to us to hold in trust and present to Him one day, and I don't think we've done a very good job. We've made a mess of things, and screwed a lot up. We've taken order and brought it to chaos. We've taken what was good, and corrupted it.

As men, God has given us authority so that we can work to improve and make things better. We need to see what is wrong, and work to fix it, so that it can be good. We need to bring light to the darkness.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

In the image of God

"Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created Him; male and female He created them." -Genesis 1.26-27

Here's where it all begins, with God in the beginning. God who is all powerful, perfectly holy, makes man in His own image. Man was created intentionally, and for a purpose. We aren't an accident put here to struggle through life looking for meaning. We were purposely made.

We were put on earth to rule over it, not in tyrannical domination, but in working to continue to make it better. This is how God works. Every day of creation He adds to the wonder of the previous day. It begins with nothing but formless chaos, and ends with a universe full of wonders we can't imagine, and a planet full of life and beauty. Life and beauty man was placed here to watch over and protect.

We have been entrusted with a great responsibility, and an incredible privilege. And in the beginning it was perfect. God made us, we knew it, and we lived with purpose. Today, so much attacks us, so much demands out attention, it's easy to get distracted and forget. But this is where it all begins, this is the first message we see. God created man in His own image, to watch over His creation.

You, are not an accident, you are not a mistake. God made you in His image. You are not a waste of space. You have a purpose.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor