“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.’ . . . So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
‘At last!’ the man exclaimed. ‘This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called woman, because she was taken from man.’”
God doesn’t do anything half-heartedly. When he created the world, he was intentional and thoughtful about every aspect and detail. In Genesis 2:18 he said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Enough said, right? It is not good for man to be alone, so he created Eve, a helper. He designed marriage for intimacy and procreation. But God didn’t leave relationships there. He created humans with a need to be in community to fully thrive. He created the idea of family associated by marriage and birth as well as the family of God. There’s no denying God sees this community as a gift—so important that he sent his Son to die for it. God never intended for us to do life on our own. Even Jesus was born into a family and given a mom and dad and brothers. Jesus had friends, not just followers.
Reflect:
Read Genesis 1:26–27 and 2:18–23. Being alone is “not good”—God made us to need others. How can that need actually function as a gift? What’s been your experience?
Pray:
Speak with God about times you’ve felt lonely or isolated from others; invite God to help you better understand your God-given need for relationships and community.
While we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
We’ve got little information on Jesus’ appearance and personality. But that’s the way God designed it.españolFrançais
After lobbying from fellow Southern Baptists and Christians affected by the war, the House speaker moves a package forward.
