Friday, March 29, 2013

Viva la difference

 
Viva la difference!
An exclamation pertaining to the qualities that make the sexes unique.
 
 
There is a distinct and clear difference (not in mathematic terms) in how men and women are designed. Every branch of science from neuroscience to anthropology now confirms something the Bible has laid out all along. Of course, I believe that those differences are good and there for a reason: God planned a framework for what a man should be and what a woman should be, and our uniqueness is affected by how we live out that design.
Ever notice in marriage that opposites are attracted to each other? I’m convinced that it’s for our own completeness (the two becoming one). You have seen it, haven’t you -- one is a spender and the other a saver; one is talker (babbling brook) and the other a listener (dead sea); or one likes to read about something and the other like to see it -- Viva la difference!
 
Check it out this short video - We are so different…
 
But be careful, those same differences that bring two together can be the same differences that drive a couple apart, but that’s another story. So work together couples to, understand, appreciate, and celebrate our God given differences.
Also be careful of too many similarities! As I remember, the late great Larry Burkett, an American author and radio personality whose work focused on financial counseling from an evangelical Christian point of view, put it this way -- “The good Lord never put to similar people together, because if he did – one would be redundant.”
God made us both equal in status and different in our role
We learn in Genesis (in the beginning) of all the things God created, none is more meaningful than humanity. Men and women stand as equals at the climax of God’s created order.
Creation --Genesis 1:27-28 – God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God created everything; and man gave names to all…, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So God created an intimate partner from and for man.
Completeness -- Genesis 2:18– Then the Lord God said,“It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
Isn’t it refreshing to see here that the Lord knows what we need before we (Adam in this case) even think about it? Although the Bible doesn’t elaborate about Adam realizing he was incomplete, it does tell us God created Eve as a “help-meet” for Adam. A companion designed to be with man, and the man and wife remain together for their entire lives.
Companionship -- Genesis 2:24 – [Moses tell us] For this reason [Because of the way God designed marriage from the beginning] a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
God created this union of oneness (let’s call it marriage) and sex in marriage as God’s good gift for future generations, and designed for our pleasure, to meet our deepest needs for human companionship on this earth.
If you are interested in more of what God says about marriage read Ephesians 5:22-33, and become a marriage builder.

Viva la difference...and they shall become one flesh.
 
 


No comments: