When I try to imagine two people becoming one flesh, the best analogy I can come up with is a three-legged race. The last time I participated in one of these was at a church picnic. Two individuals have their middle legs tied together, forced to work as a team. The most successful couples get into a rhythm, communicating as one flesh to outpace all of their opponents.
Then Adam said, This [creature] is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of a man. 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other’s presence, Genesis 2:23-25.
Moses explains the origin of marriage in the passage above. Since God created Eve out of pieces from man’s body, Adam is blown away by what has just taken place. While modern day couples may hold hands in public, when newlyweds have intercourse, they become one flesh. Unfortunately, many couples focus on the sexual aspect of marriage rather than communication.
Everything is permissible (allowable and lawful) for me; but not all things are helpful (good for me to do, expedient and profitable when considered with other things). Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be brought under its power. 13 Food [is intended] for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will finally end [the functions of] both and bring them to nothing. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but [is intended] for the Lord, and the Lord [is intended] for the body [[a]to save, sanctify, and raise it again]. 14 And God both raised the Lord to life and will also raise us up by His power. 15 Do you not see and know that your bodies are members (bodily parts) of Christ (the Messiah)? Am I therefore to take the parts of Christ and make [them] parts of a prostitute? Never! Never! 16 Or do you not know and realize that when a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? The two, it is written, shall become one flesh. 17 But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him, 1 Corinthians 6:12-17.
The apostle Paul interjects how free will influences relationships in the above passage. The key phrase is Paul’s first century later comes in the form, “not every choice is beneficial.” When two people enter into the covenant of marriage, it takes time to transition from living for yourself to pleasing your soulmate. Sacrifices will have to be made by each person. If success is the process of arriving, when two individuals become one flesh, this journey takes a lifetime to grow closer as one.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 