Designed for Relationship

Year 4-Day 66: Today, I am grateful we were designed for relationships.

We were. First with God and then with other people. 

After every day of creation, "And God saw that it was good." is repeated. Then he created man. Man was His masterpiece.Man was uniquely given God's image...His soul breath...his creative spirit...His ability to choose...and the man's freedom to refuse.  Yes, God made man, gave him the job of naming ...and then observed. 

Genesis 2:19-20 "Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him."

God brought the animals to man for the naming.  Remember fretting over naming each child or even a pet? Imagine the responsibility of all living creatures.  Responsibility and work are so much better when shared. We need good and meaningful work...but we need more. We need each other. 

Note...God did not offer suggestions in the naming.  "Whatever man called the living creature, that was its name".  Do you think God cringed?  Have you ever let children name a pet?  Imagine God stepping back and watch His creation choosing names. This one man made in His image...creating names for all living creatures. It kept him busy...until the work was done. 

Then, God saw that it was not good for man to be alone. He saw the need for companionship and filled it.  

Genesis 2:18 "Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 

Genesis 2:21-23 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
    because she was taken out of Man.

I love this particular part of the passage- "I will make him a helper fit for him.” 

I had to look closer at the "fit". What does that mean?  The Hebrew word, neged, sounds a little like the English word "naked", if you make the "K" into a hard "G" sound (according to the pronunciation audio in the Hebrew Lexicon). 

Neged: a front, i.e. part opposite; specifically a counterpart, or mate;

A front has a back. Part opposite; part the same. Designed to fit together. 

A mate relieves the loneliness and helps us along the way. 

Relationships do get complicated. Family, marriage, friends, church, neighbors and even co-workers make up our world. Some days are good...others are a challenge. Why? We are all miraculously different. Those differences color our world with beauty...and drive us mad at other times. 

I find it really interesting that God...the master and creator of the universe...let man name all living creatures. He didn't step in with suggestions.  He took a deep breath and approved man's best efforts. He modeled some pretty big relationship stuff in that one verse. 

"And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name."

Relationship first. And, names are pretty important, but God let him name every one. God's approval of each name must have been exhilarating for Adam. When God created woman...He did not create her for "Adam improvement". He created her to "fit". 

I wonder if he let her name the first salad without suggestions for improvement? 

We were designed for relationship.  First with God...then with others.  He modeled some really good stuff in the time before Eve even arrived on the scene.  Someone once said, the "Spirit of Correctiveness" is NOT a fruit of the spirit.  I must confess...I struggle with that one. So, I frequently look at Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Life is a journey. This quote embodies the joy in relationships. 

"You'll need coffee shops,
and sunsets and roadtrips,
airplanes and passports, 
and new songs and old songs, 
and more than anything else
You will need other people. 
And you will need to be that
other person to someone else. 
A living, breathing, screaming
Invitation to believe 
in better things. 
-Jamie Tworkowski

Today, I am grateful we were designed for relationships.