Dude.

This post was written for The Journey blog at http://journeyon.net

During the 90s, Seinfeld became a huge success by poking fun at itself as “a show about nothing.”

During the first few verses of the Bible, God made something out of nothing too. God crafted the heavens and earth out of the void and breathed life into it.  He delighted in its goodness (Genesis 1:31).

But in chapter 2, God declared something was not good.  Man was alone.

When God made Eve from Adam’s rib, Adam rejoiced in his completeness, exclaiming, “At last!” His experience was one of delight and Eve’s experience was one of being delighted in.

Of course, this joy was before sin entered the world.  Adam didn’t say, “I hope she works out, God,” or “Hope you measure up to all my expectations, Eve.”  He wasn’t even mad that she took his rib.  He looked at her, just as God had looked upon creation, and said “This is good.”  He was delighted by her presence.  No agenda.  No need for results.  Just relationship.

This part of their story ends with a small but profound statement:  they “were both naked and were not ashamed,” which points toward their vulnerability (Genesis 2:24). They had total security with each other.

That security was later shattered by sin, which cracks the foundation of trust in relationships.  Sometimes we don’t see these cracks, but usually we are just like Adam and Eve.  We feel shame and hide.  They hid in the bushes (Genesis 3:8), but we hide in our hearts as shame causes us to protect ourselves.  The pattern establishes a “creeping separateness,” as one of our pastors calls it.

In God’s design, marriage is the opposite of that creeping separateness. The mandate that we should “become one flesh” is about a relationship that requires all of us—heart, soul, mind and body.  It is a oneness that should be pursued boldly and passionately, and it begins much like Adam began delighting in Eve—without shame.

Shame keeps us from experiencing God’s delight in us, too.  We see ourselves as unacceptable before God, but the gospel exposes our sin and covers our shame with the love of Jesus.  Because of Jesus, we can be naked and unashamed before a God who knows all our faults and loves us anyway.

To say that our relationship with God informs the rest of our relationships is a massive understatement.   Once we know God’s delight in us, we can be vulnerable enough to love and be loved.  So here are some things to reflect on.

The opportunity (and command) for us in marriage is to show Christ to one another.  What would happen if we loved our spouses like that?

How could the undeserving love we receive from Christ influence how we love our spouses, even in the midst of trials and failures?

God’s love for us is based on an unchanging covenant relationship him through Jesus.  It is not based on our performance (thankfully!).   How might we show our spouse a love not based on performance, but on the unwavering covenant relationship we share?

Finally, oneness is about showing Christ to one another, not about similar interests or agreement on all things.  How could we incorporate that as a governing principle in our marriages so that we can cultivate relationships free of shame and protection—relationships where we are naked and unashamed?

jd