Brown's Daily Word 5-15-12

Praise the lord for this new day. We drove to Boston last Saturday to spend some time with Janice and her family. We worshipped in A Presbyterian Church In Cambridge on Sunday. We celebrated mother's day in Boston. We praise the Lord for the gift of the Christian home. There is no perfect Christian home, family, or marriage. We all are dysfunctional in some ways. That is the reason Jesus came to redeem us and give us new life, new beginnings.

One of the headlines for the week has been about gay and lesbian marriages. In fact, few years ago, Congress took the extraordinary step of bringing into law the Defense of Marriage Act, which includes a very basic, unmistakable attempt to define what marriage is and what, by definition, it isn’t. This is what it says: The word “marriage” means only a legal union between one man and one woman, as husband and wife. The word “spouse” refers only to a person of the opposite sex, who is a husband or a wife.

There are those who would say, “That is the position that historically, traditionally and biblically has been held in Western Civilization.” There are others who are saying, “It’s time that we redefine marriage and the family.” So the lines of demarcation are clearly drawn, and it is incumbent upon each one of us to arrive at some very, very specific convictions and conclusions as to what we personally believe in this matter.

I have performed several marriages during my ministry. I performed another beautiful marriage ceremony recently. It was one of the ten best days. The man and woman, groom and bride looked stunning. It was a great time of celebration, and entering into the bond of Christian marriage. In the congregation there two men present who living together as homosexual partners. I shared during my wedding message to the newlyweds that our God revealed in the Bible, in the person of Jesus Christ, that He is a very generous God. He is Holy and righteous. Our God is the one who invented marriage between man and woman. It is written God made Adam and Eve (not Adam and Steve). God ordained marriage between one man one woman. When the first couple disobeyed the Lord and sinned God did not abandon them; rather, He planned the great plan of redemption in the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who blessed the marriage in Cana of Galilee by His own presence. In fact, He performed His first miracle there, according to John 2.

• It is written in Genesis, "God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth". Two gay men in a "marriage" relationship or two lesbians in a "marriage" relationship cannot multiply. The Lord, the Creator, has the better idea that only man and woman in the bond of marriage can multiply.

  God loves all of us. We are all sinners saved only by grace. He loves heterosexuals, homosexuals, and lesbians. Jesus came to redeem us from sin and bondage, and to give new and transformed lives so that we live in liberty and serve Him in joy.

• In the Creation account of Genesis 2 we get a glimpse of life in the first family. In our Scripture we discover three truths about the marriage of Adam and Eve: First, they were created for each other. Second, they were different from each other. And third, they were given to each other.

In the year 1158, the medieval poet and professor Peter Lombard observed that, "Eve was not taken from the feet of Adam to be his slave, nor from his head to be his lord, but from his side to be his partner." Lombard grasped an important fact which has eluded many Christians from Lombard's day down through to our very own. That is, in the creation account there is no evidence of superior/inferior or dominant/submissive relations between the first husband and wife. Instead there is evidence of equality and an egalitarian relationship. Adam and Eve shared a growing friendship. They had a strong partnership. They enjoyed companionship. They complemented one another in every way possible, because they were created for each other.

In the Genesis account, God had looked upon the universe in all of its perfection and pristine glory -- and God has declared it very good. Yet, here, the Lord's benediction becamd a malediction: God saw that it was not good for a man to be alone. Thus, we read of the Lord's intent: "I will make him a helper fit for him" (Genesis 2:18, RSV).

Then our text takes an unusual turn. In the Genesis 2:19, 20, we have an apparent non sequitur. At first glance these verses seem unrelated to the 18th verse. We just read that God intended to make a helper for man, and next we read that God set Adam to the task of studying the animals. While these verses may initially seem incongruent, consider the divine wisdom at work. Here was the first "premarital counseling session." God had some important insights for Adam before Adam could marry Eve, which went well beyond "the birds and the bees."

Certainly God wanted to show Adam that his wife was entirely unique -- created like himself, unlike the animals. The Lord enabled Adam to envision his wife as a partner, a best friend, and a life companion. At the same time, the Lord inspired Adam to treat his wife in a loving and caring way. We need only understand God's purpose in creating woman to understand her divinely-intended relationship to man. She is described by God, her Maker, as a "helper fit for man." The preposition "for" is very important here. It literally means "corresponding to, equal and adequate to." She is a partner corresponding to the man. She is a fitting partner who is his equal in every respect.

Theologian Paul Jewett noted that the particular Hebrew word for help, used in verses 18 and 20, describe a "fitting helper" for man. This word, in fact, is never used in the Old Testament to designate a subordinate or a servant. Jewett observed that it is sometimes used of God Himself, for often the Psalmist speaks of God as our "help" in time of need.

Here we discover that Adam and Eve were created for each other. They were created equally to bear God's image. They were created equally to share life together. They were created equally for companionship, for partnership and for friendship. Yet, while they were created for each other, Adam and Eve were created uniquely different from each other. T hey were created to procreate.

Elizabeth Achtemeier has written of the beauty and mystery of this divine creation: "The man was shaped from the dust of the ground, intimately, in the hands of God the Potter. Then the woman was formed from the rib of the man, secretly, by God the Father of the Bride." The difference between man and woman, then, is due to God's creative plan and purpose. We read in verses 21 and 22 that God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, so that the Lord could perform divine surgery. From a single rib -- the solid and substantial bone which encloses the heart -- God created Eve.

Perhaps in describing the woman's creation in this way the Lord underscored the fact that woman is not the creation of man. When she was created, man was in an unknowing sleep. In fact Adam contributed no more to her creation than to his own; for this reason Eve is not somehow indebted to Adam. Although she is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, her being is hers, even as his being is his. This is because Adam and Eve were created uniquely different from each other.

It seems probable that the first husband and wife enjoyed many shared interests. At the same time, they must have encouraged each other to develop their individual interests, talents and abilities. We simply need to remember that before the Fall, in their perfection, Adam and Eve lived out the kind of love which Paul wrote about in I Corinthians 13. This love is patient and kind, it rejoices in the other's well-being. This love is not possessive, not resentful, not jealous, not demanding of its own way. When a husband and wife share this Christ-like love they encourage and celebrate each other's individual interests, talents, abilities and success.

Although God created Adam and Eve for each other, God created them different from each other. Such uniqueness, such differing gifts and interests are to be a wellspring of joy and spontaneity in marriage. This joy and spontaneity was especially evident on that primeval day when the Creator God gave Adam and Eve to each other. We read Adam's joyful song in verse 23 where, in effect, he said, "At last, here is my life companion, bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!"

Imagine Adam and Eve, in their perfection, encountering each other for the first time. In his commentary on Genesis, Martin Luther expressed his belief that Adam must have excelled the animals in strength -- with power greater than the lion's, eyesight sharper than the eagle's, with incredible knowledge and wisdom and handsomeness. Then Luther thought Eve would have been as strong, fast, clear-sighted, and brilliant as the man; and in addition to that she must have had a beauty and grace that excelled him.

Adam and Eve knew a joyful ecstasy when God gave them to each other. "Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). This is one of the Bible's most powerful teachings given to husbands and wives. Here we discover what makes for a successful and satisfying marriage.

Adam and Eve recognized that God had created them for each other -- for companionship, partnership and friendship. Adam and Eve realized that God had made them different from each other -- with unique gifts, talents and abilities. Adam and Eve rejoiced when God had given them to each other -- to share a lifetime of love together.

Today let us give thanks unto the Lord for His goodness to us. How great is God's love that He would care intimately about our marriages and families. How great His desire that our hearts and homes have a place for His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How great His provision in sending His Son to be our Helper and Counselor -- and above all to be our Savior. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can make marriage and family all that God originally intended it to be.

In Christ,

Brown

http://youtu.be/JIs0SrJYJUk

Saturday evening worship service.

Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott

53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.

Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott

Saturday May 19, 2012

6 PM Gathering: Coffee Fellowship

6:30 PM Worship Service

Worship Music by Laureen Naik, Emma Brunson

Speakers: Rev. Bill Turner,