Adam and Eve: God’s Plan, Part 7

Jul 31, 2013 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

“Learn to love well to be well loved.”

Today we finish up our series on Adam and Eve. It you have missed any part, here they are:

Part 1: Partners

Part 2: Covenant Marriage

Part 3: Selflessness

Part 4: Taking Responsibility

Part 5: Strategies – Devotion and Demonstrate

Part 6: Strategies – Dialogue and Delight

In Genesis we see God restore Adam and Eve. Yes, they still had consequences for their choices, as do we. It was never the same as originally designed for them, or us, but God still restored them and can restore our marriages. We too can blame Adam and Eve for putting us in this situation, but we will not play the blame game. Each of us needs to take responsibility and start where we currently are in our relationships.

In a first time move, God sacrificed an animal for atonement (payment) of man’s sins when he provided Adam and Eve clothes to wear to cover their now-realized nakedness. He began the restoration process. What a beautiful word picture here of God’s redemption of mankind, and His desire for us to be healed and made whole again relationally. He wanted Adam and Eve to be in a restored relationship with Him and with one another. This demonstrates in a beautiful way God’s amazing love for us, and how He desires for us to be reconciled in relationships.

For us, He has sacrificed his one and only Son for our sins and atoned for us. He desires for us to also live in a reconciled relationship with Him and in a healthy marriage. We are not perfect. We are probably all a little more like Adam and Eve than we want to admit. That’s what makes it so good for us. God forgives and heals any and all of us if we choose. We will not achieve perfect marriages and families, but we can have healthy marriages and families!

We can be restored to live out God’s plan for marriage. We can learn from Adam and Eve, but specifically through God’s love and redemption of their relationship to be restored. God has put us together to live as partners in this wonderful covenant relationship of marriage. He can redeem, restore, and renew even when we follow the poor examples of Adam and Eve and make mistakes and sin. Your marriage may have not always followed God’s perfect design, but the hope of redemption and restoration is possible for all marriages. Return to the beginning in your marriage – starting today.

• How has your marriage strayed from God’s perfect design?
• What would it take for you to get back to that original plan for your marriage to be in partnership and covenant?
• Are you willing to fight for your marriage and see it restored? That is God’s perfect plan. Start today.

To watch the entire sermon on Adam and Eve, click here. Then scroll down to “Adam and Eve.”

~Jim and Jerolyn