September 01, 2022 | Letters from the Lead Pastor by Brandon Lenhart
"Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him" (Genesis 2:18, NLT).
At the beginning of time when GOD created humans in His image/likeness, there was a period when the first man (Adam) was alone, and within GOD's created order this was not good. Up till this point in the narrative, the condition of creation was good according to GOD's desires and standards, however, by Genesis 2:18, GOD asserts for the first time in human history that something was "not" good.
So why wasn't it good for man to be alone? And, was He really alone? Wasn't GOD there with him? Wasn't GOD enough for him?
As we read a few verses earlier, we know that man was created by GOD from the dust of the ground, and though created in His image, Adam was completely separate from GOD in nature. GOD is Creator and Adam is the created, thus, though man could be in an intimate relationship with GOD, he would never be able to achieve the function and role for which he was created without a "helper," who, while equal to him would also complete him in a unity of oneness.
So GOD causes Adam to fall into a deep sleep, and He takes from the very flesh of Adam's frame the very material that made Adam unique from the rest of creation. From Adam's very bone and flesh, GOD creates the counterpart to man, woman. Though different in many ways, the woman would complement man's existence not as one who would wait on him hand and foot, but as one who would be equally by his side ruling GOD's creation with love and purpose. The result was nothing less than perfection, and the couple magnified the glory of GOD and His goodness as they
tended the garden together in perfect unity.
The perfect unity that the first man and woman would experience together, sadly would not last for long, for a tempter would come to cast doubt on GOD's trustworthiness. Before long both the man and woman would succumb to doubt and disobedience to GOD's commands, and they would set in motion a snowball effect of brokenness and distrust that would mark the created order for the rest of human existence.
Once sin entered the world through the first human's disobedience to GOD, every relationship would not only become disjointed but would suffer the loss of trust and intimacy that it initially enjoyed in GOD's perfect creation. Paradise would be lost, but hope would not.
There were four relationships that suffered: 1) The relationship between GOD and humans, 2) The relationship between man and woman, 3) The relationship between humans and the rest of creation, and, 4) The relationship to self. Since then all of creation has been groaning and reeling from the effects of sin that continue to be perpetuated from generation to generation.
So what's the solution? Well, at just the right time in human history, GOD stepped out of eternity and into time, took on human flesh, and dealt with the problem of sin that held sway over humans since the fall. Jesus took the punishment for the sin that first came into the world through the first humans, and in so doing, broke the stranglehold that it had on creation. In Christ, all things can be restored; all things can become new again. In Christ, relationships are restored. In Christ, aloneness is abolished, and oneness is achieved.
Are you living with the result of broken relationships in your life? Have you felt alone? The first, and most important, relationship that can bring restoration to all others is only found in Christ.
