One Flesh

One of the most beautiful passages of Scripture is found in Genesis chapter two when the man says about God’s new creation “Woman,” “This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called woman, for out of man this one was taken.” Then Genesis says these words about marriage, “Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Nicky and Sila Lee, authors of The Marriage Course developed at Holy Trinity Brompton church in London, say that the marriage relationship is the closest most intimate relationship God has created. In fact, they say that it is even closer and more intimate than the relationship between a parent and child. They point out that parent/child relationships are characterized by increasing independence over time (the idea is that children eventually grow up and leave the nest), whereas the marriage relationship is characterized by increasing interdependence. The Bible calls this “becoming one flesh.” God uses the incredible gift of marriage as the means of helping two individual people, over time, to become one flesh. This isn’t an instantaneous occurrence that happens when two people say their vows, or move into a house together. It is a process that takes hard work, lots of love, and incredible commitment. This is my prayer for every marriage in our church, in our community, and in our entire country and world – that we would all have marriages that foster increasing interdependence and increasing love for one another – marriages that help each couple become “one flesh.”