Scripture:
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being…
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
(Genesis 2:7,20-23)
Devotion:
These are the first recorded words of humanity, and they are about this creation called “woman” and her woman-ness.
As the Psalmist declared,
“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and
Wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14)
God created humans with physical bodies. Adam took note of Eve physically with excitement and joy, not to God’s rebuke, but to His delight. Our bodies matter; God is saying something profound to us through our bodies, as we see in the creation story. Unlike the Gnostics who believe that the body is evil, Christians embrace, celebrate, and cherish what God has taken great joy to create and to give us. The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God.
Human beings are not just souls or minds but bodies also – a trinity of key essence of what it means to be human. Our bodies, our physical flesh, are a key part of who we are. And our bodies reveals two characteristics about mankind to even the dullest observer: we come in two models - male and female; and both are unmistakably different and distinct.
Reflection:
(1) Are you comfortable with your own body?
(2) Like Adam marveled at the creation of Eve, take a moment to thank God for the way he has created you. How can you learn to take better care of this body and use it to honor the One who has given you the breath of life?
Prayer:
Creator God, thank You for creating me as uniquely me, and gifted me with this body. Help me love my body and take good care of it, that I may use it to honor you and reflect your glory. Amen.