God's
second Great Gift
by:
Pastor Dan M. Appel
In a few weeks, here in California we are going to be voting in our Primary Elections. One of the initiatives to be voted on is only 14 words long. It is titled: "The Protection of Marriage Initiative." In this ballot measure Californians are asked to join 31 other states in establishing that, as far as the law is concerned, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
Proponents of this ballot initiative are careful to point out that this issue is not about respecting people, relationships or even sexual preference. It is about defining, or attempting to redefine, what constitutes "Marriage."
This whole subject revolves around the second great gift that God gave to humanity when He created us. We discover Him creating this gift in the book of beginnings found in the Bible - in Genesis 1,2. 1
In these 2 chapters, we discover God creating a man and a woman - Adam and Eve. They were biologically different. They were created with the power to reproduce humans similar to themselves. They were both necessary to procreate. God even placed nerves in the proper places to make it a very pleasurable experience.
In order for this to happen, we are told in the last verse of chapter 2, a man would leave his father and mother and be joined with his wife and they would become one. That is the manufacturers definition of marriage. It involves a man, a woman, and a deep, life-long commitment. The two, according to the Creator's definition, become one. It is one of the few times in our universe when the laws of mathematics work in reverse.
When you read what the Bible says about his gift, you begin to realize that it is a great gift indeed! For instance, God gave us the gift of our sexuality to be enjoyed in the context of marriage. He designed men and women differently. He created us to fit together in the ultimate expression of love. He could have designed us to procreate in ways that did not include pleasure, but He did not. Within the context of marriage, God designed that we could enjoy each other's nakedness and not need to be ashamed. God, despite what the Kama Sutra might say, in the creation of our sexuality designed that it be an act where a man and a woman faced each other in mutual respect and admiration. It was to be an "us" experience, not something perpetrated on one by the other. The creator designed that experience as the ultimate glue to make one out of two.
In fact, it was because God so much wanted us to experience the pleasure that He has in creating that He created us to create. While the Bible never limits our sexuality to the utilitarian purpose of procreation, one delightful by-product is sons and daughters - gifts of God's gifts to us. As we look into the face of a newborn child of our love we discover God's delight when Adam and Eve first smiled at Him. When we listen in awe, in the quietness of a nursery rocking chair, to the breathing of our creation, we taste God's delight when Adam and Eve took their first breaths. When look at our creation, the result of the combining of two unique sets of chromosomes and the miles of our DNA, we understand why God looked at His creation and in satisfaction sighed - "It is very good!"
The gift of marriage is not limited to our sexuality. It's a tough world out there. God also designed that this special relationship He created be a place of support and nurture which we could receive in no other context. He created a place where, in tandem with someone who was our heart and soul mate, we could contribute more together to our community and His kingdom than we could ever hope to accomplish separately. He created the family to be a place where we were enriched emotionally and where we could experience the trait that most describes the character of God - love.2 In His divine plan, it was to be a place where we could always be with our closest friend, our dearest confident, and our greatest support. Until a person experiences the terrible loneliness of standing alone; until you experience the devestating isolation of rejection; until you walk the dark valley of isolation, even in a crowd, you cannot comprehend the value of God's gift of marriage. When two become truly one you are never alone - no matter the circumstances. In such a relationship, there is always a complement to your weakness, a support in your insecurity and a friend when there seems to be no others.
That is probably why God said that He was creating a "helper fit for him" when He created Eve. The King James translates the Hebrew word "help mate." Some have mistakenly read this as "helper" as in "servant." This is not the case. The word carries more the meaning of "complement." It is the picture of an equal that completes. It is a two part jigsaw puzzle where two equally important pieces are present to create a whole picture. It carries the idea of two equal but different halves that must be fit together to make a whole.
That is the problem with the proposition which I mentioned at the beginning. Those who would attempt to bless same sex marriages try to change the manufacturer's definition of marriage. In tring to create a new definition of this most sacred of relationships, they end up with a counterfeit that may look good, it may even provide some of the same benefits, but which can never, ever, be the same. The Manufacturer, the Creator, the Designer of marriage made the definition too specific. Any attempt to change it will destroy it. Which, as I said, was Satan's plan in the first place.
Marriage between a man and a woman for life was designed by God to be the cornerstone of society. Unfortunately, that is not what marriage often is today. Just as he did with God's first great gift,3 Satan set out to destroy this gift God created for you and me. The minute God performed the first marriage, Satan's immediate reaction to His generosity was swift! From almost the first rebellion of mankind, we see the results of His attacks. Marriage, today, is under attack from all sides.
One thing we discover in the Bible is that God not only gives us gifts, He works His very hardest to restore them to us if they are taken away. If your marriage is not what God designed it to be, why not give God a chance to restore it. That journey of restoration is not always an easy one, but it is worth every step of the way. If you would like to know how God would like to restore your marriage, why not drop me a line. Just click on the communication link below and send me an e-mail. Or better yet, why not drop by and visit our church. We talk every week about God's plans to restore His lost gifts to humanity. We'd like to tell you about them. And, while you're at it, introduce yourself to me. I'd like to get to know you and to introduce you to others who have walked this journey before you and who have discovered just how great God's gifts really are!
1. Genesis is the first book in the Bible. It is the book of beginnings - it tells us where all matter and life came from in the universe and on this earth. If you don't have a Bible and would like one, we'd like to get one for you. It is a book filled with incredible gifts from a loving God. Those gifts were created for you. The Bible is divided into books, of which Genesis is the first. It is then further divided into chapters and verses to make it easy for you to find what you are looking for. If you would like us to help you get a Bible, send us an e-mail requesting one and we will make arrangements for one to be delivered to you.
2. 1 John 4:8,16
3. Note last week's pastoral message in our archive.
© Dan M. Appel
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