Genesis 2:21-24

“Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.” vs. 24

There’s something about this little verse that has touched human hearts, and it has done so for countless generations. Appearing in the Law, the Gospels, and in the Epistles, it has become a timeless description of what happens in marriage. Even modern folks like the notion of becoming one flesh with another–it’s a powerfully graphic picture of the intimacy we crave in this lonely world. And the story is wonderfully told. Woman is fashioned from a rib of the Man; one person becomes two! And then in marriage there is a reconnecting, the two become one! It’s a beautiful image, and a reality that we look forward to celebrating as we live this incredible life in this good world. Unfortunately, because the world is also broken, we have a devilishly difficult time actually experiencing such an intimate unity. And now that divorce has lost much of its social and religious stigma, fewer and fewer couples seem inclined to even attempt the sacrificial love that a “one flesh” relationship requires. But we’re an endlessly optimistic species, and we keep on believing that we are going to marry our “soulmates” and have the unity we crave. And sometimes it happens! Two people are captured by unconditional love and discover in the other their missing rib. The love is apparent to all around, and the whole community rejoices!

Thought for the Day: What is a soulmate?