He woke up from a very deep slumber. His eyes were still getting accustomed to the light of the morning. He stretched his arms with a yawn. It was a nice and refreshing sleep especially under the tree. He loved sleeping under that tree. It overlooked the whole forest with all its verdant beauty.
As he was about to rise, he was immediately taken aback at what stood in front of him. Two limbs firm and strong was standing in front of him. Were these the limbs of the horse he was riding yesterday? No this couldn't be it. It's not even a quadruped. It has no hind limbs.
He had to shade his eyes from the sun as he tried to gaze at the creature in front of him. It was a creature of majestic standards. Yes, its long flowing hair almost like the river Euphrates seemed to enamour him.
He finally stood up and gazed at the most beautiful creature his eyes has ever dawned upon. From what he is seeing, he already knows that this is one of the Master's doing. And this was for him!
So, the man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."
And so man and woman, Adam and Eve became one.
______
Based on Genesis 2: 21-24
It is February once more and for most people, the thought that would most likely fall on their heads is the question of who would be my date this Valentine's Day? It is a very timely question that for some may seem to have a very disappointing answer.
True enough, those emo questions of who is the destined one for me? Or how would I find that elusive Mr. or Ms. Right? seemed to be the craze during these months. Moreover, flowers, chocolates, cards and love stories seemed to take their toll at around these months. Films and TV programs seemed to overly expound on these daring exploits of men trying to woo their women or some other tragic twist of romance that it has become the fad.
But of all the love stories that I have seen or read, which could be summed up by the number of fingers on one of your hands, I seem to favor the first love story the most. Sorry for those who prefer that vampire and his beloved or any other classic or modern fiction you love that had that same plot as the novel next to it have.
So what was the first love story? You may not believe me but that's the one I have written on top. But if you much prefer the original text, it can be found in Genesis 2: 18-25 (I wanted to put it here or link it to an online Bible site, but you have to open your Bible sometimes right?)
So what's good about it? It's the story it self. The story answers all the WH about love.
Why do we need love?
This is the first and most important question that we need to answer. The first verse answered that question. God was the first to realize it. He knew that man need not be alone. Man should always have a companion. Because God is a God of Love we need to have a companion for us.
Imagine Adam's work in the second verse (v.19). God sent all the animals to him. Think about all of those animals. And if you think of elephants and lions, think again. Those animals that you're thinking of are only 2% of the entire animal kingdom. That lot alone, if it came to Adam, would be very overwhelming. So most naturally, he needed help doing it.
In the same way, we need help do things that we were set to do. We need a companion that would help us bring glory to God and his creations.
Who to love?
The first verse (v.18) tells us what God thought about the prospect of marriage or finding your love. He was the first one aware of the idea even before it entered the mind of Adam. And God even proposed the solution. It clearly tells us that God is the first one who loved us that He even bothered to think of creating a partner for man. The great Psalmist was right when he said "Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD!" (Psalms 139:4)
Indeed, we need to love God first before everything will fall into place. He is the source of all the love in the world. So seek him first.
What to do to find love?
The second verse plainly answers the question. What was Adam doing before he met Eve? He was working. He set out what God wanted him to do. Even though it was as simple as naming all the animals, he still went out to do it. He never clamoured or sulked at God when God did not give him Eve yet. He just obeyed without actually expecting anything to happen. He did not know what were God's plans so he just worked for God.
That is the same thing that we need to do. Instead of wallowing in pain of being alone or falling into that deep abyss of nothingness because of a failed love, we need to realize that its not the falling in love that matters. What matters is that you work for God and obey his commands even though it seems as simple as reading the Bible or identifying the poor.
Be you man or woman, what God did to Adam after putting him to sleep was the answer. He pulled out a rib. While this may interest doctors more as the first operation, we see that it also signifies where to find love. It tells us that with God's help we need to look a little deeper into ourselves. God dug deep into Adam's ribs to fashion out Eve.
In the same way, we need to know God and ourselves deeper to see what we really need and when do we really need it. You may laugh at the thought of self realization and stuff but it seems that it is the thing that we keep on forgetting, that is including me. We tend to rush into relationships hoping that somehow this next one would be the real One. Only to find that in the end, we made a wrong decision and we get not only disappointment but heartbreak because of it.
When do we find love?
God was the one who fashioned Eve. He was the one who made Adam sleep a "deep slumber" and did his operation. He took the rib from Adam, He sealed the wound. He made Eve from the rib. He brought her to Adam. What I am pointing out here is that God did all of these in succession. He did all of these in his own time and process.
Guys and gals alike tend to take it on their own. When our hormones were still raging to discover the world around us, we seem to think that we are up to do adult stuff. But we don't realize that those adults that we find as models have undergone the process of submitting their lives to God and waiting it out in God's time (of course those are the ideal adults). So in the end, we tend to rush. We tend to follow our deceptive feelings and juvenile decision making skills that as we grow older we seem to be making the same mistakes over and over again. We need to stop and trust God's timing for everything.
The first love story may be the simplest love story. But it is also the most enjoyable and the most informative. It lacks the average plot of vampires, werewolves, magic, sorcery, mysterious deaths, poisons, family feuds and a whole lot of other twists and turns that media has to offer. It lacks the titillating romantic scenes or the adrenaline pumping rescue scenes but it never lacked the God scene.
No comments:
Post a Comment