Genesis 2:18-24 (NRSV)
Read Genesis 2:18-24 on biblegateway.com
Verse 18Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." Verse 19So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, 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. Verse 20The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner.
Verse 21So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. Verse 22And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Verse 23Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken." Verse 24Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Devotion
Wholeness is a common theme in the Old Testament. One of the meanings of shalom is wholeness. Today’s reading notes, “it is not good that the man (humanity) should be alone;” to be un-whole, separated or apart from community. Think about how you have felt when you are alone too much or when someone you love is gone too long. Humans are created as social beings to interact in creative relationship with one another.
This July, I traveled to Myanmar (Burma) where Christianity makes up only 6% of the predominately Buddhist country. Whoever claims to be a Christian is treated as a second-class citizen; prohibited from promotions above a certain level and, in more rural areas, dispersed if caught gathering for worship or prayer. Myanmar Christians know how vital community and wholeness are to being part of “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). How does God create wholeness in your life?
Prayer
God of power and might, you are not too big or too busy to spend quality time with me or any one of your children. When we feel like one unnecessary drop of water in a huge ocean, remind us and teach us again how it is only in you that we find the wholeness and completion for which we long. Show us glimpses of you in every human on earth, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.