The Project of Marriage

Thursday, June 21, 2018

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

(Genesis 2:23-24 KJV)

It goes without saying that if you build a proper foundation, you have established the most important feature in the building.  A bad foundation can turn a beautiful home into a nightmare.  A solid foundation however is necessary for all the other parts of the building to fall into place and a remodel can easily be done when necessary so long as the foundation is sound.

In life, we know that the foundation is our relationship with our savior.  As far as priorities go, He is to be at the top of the heap, and thus is the foundation of all other relationships that we will ever have.  Remember that Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” The one relationship that will be more revealing about our relationship with our savior than all other relationships is the relationship we have with our spouses.

Adam’s statement in our text reveals to us that there is no other relationship between humans like the relationship between a man and his wife.  Besides God, they are to be everything to each other.  Sadly, this relationship often suffers as husbands and wives pursue other endeavors.  Whether it is work, hobbies, sports, activities, or even relationships with other people, we can easily spend so much time and energy on these other “enterprises” that we do not even realize that things are crumbling in the relationship with our spouse until it is nearly irreparable.

There is a story told about Douglas MacArthur II, nephew of the famous WWII General, who served in the state department when John Foster Dulles was Secretary of State.  Apparently, one evening Mr. Dulles called MacArthur at his home. His wife answered the phone and explained that her husband was not there. Not recognizing who the caller was, she angrily complained, 'MacArthur is where MacArthur always is, weekdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and nights in that office!' Within minutes Dulles had MacArthur on the phone. He gave him this terse order:  'Go home at once, Boy. Your home front is crumbling!' 

Parting Thought:

Your relationship with your spouse will often indicate where your relationship with God stands.