What Lies Beneath

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I was recently given the daunting task to give a comprehensive lecture on the topic of sex within one hour. How could I possibly do justice to this topic in such a short amount of time? Of course I knew to seek the Lord’s leading on how to best face this challenge and was shown that I should not focus on surface behaviors.  There were deeper issues to be addressed and as I pondered what to say, a question continued rising in my mind—”What lies beneath sexual and relational brokenness?”

We live in a culture sated with sex, but remain starved for love.

– Christopher West, Fill These Hearts

The glaring answer is sin which is the cause of all human brokenness.  But as I thought more deeply on this issue, what lies beneath this brokenness involves more than simply identifying sinful behaviors.  What do we hunger for in our innermost being?  I think the answer is intimacy. The primary drive at the very core of our being is our ever-present search for true intimacy.   This drive is always there in one form or another.  But where does this innate drive originate? The drive for intimacy originates from God Himself.

In the Beginning

In Genesis, we read about the marvelous beginnings of the universe and the human race. In verse 1:26 the Lord states “Let us make man into our image.” We are introduced to the Creator God, and this statement first reveals there is one God who exists in relationship. Further study of Scripture reveals the three persons of this relationship–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God is a spirit so if man is made in God’s image, then how did Adam reflect that image?  All of creation, apart from Adam, was spoken into being.  But Adam was formed by God out of creation itself. He was the pinnacle of God’s handiwork. God breathed life into him (Genesis 2:7). How then was the image of God made manifest in the dust He created and into which He breathed life?

There were animals, birds, and fishes—an amazing variety of life. The evidence of God could be seen in all of creation and God Himself declared it good. But there was only one man. Adam was the only body person in all of creation.  Adam alone reflected the Imago Dei—God’s Image.  Only Adam had self-awareness, and only Adam was in relationship with God. He communicated with God in the Garden and experienced true intimacy with the One who had created him.

I See You

“It is not good that the man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)  Frequently I ask people what God did immediately after He made this statement.  The common response is He created Eve.  Wrong!  God brought all the animals and birds before Adam and gave him the task of naming them.  It is my assumption God brought the animals to Adam male and female.  God noted Adam’s aloneness, and Adam surely must have been sensing something as well. Perhaps God was preparing Adam for what He was about to do.

What must Adam have felt as he saw pair after pair of animals come before him? Did he wonder if there was another body-person like himself somewhere?  The early church father Augustine once wrote that our heart’s desire is to see another and be seen by that other’s loving look returned.  Just as in the 2009 movie Avatar where the Na’vi people greet each other with the phrase “I see you,” we want to be seen by others in a way that goes beyond our exterior.  The animals could view Adam, but they could not see him, providing a knowing glance in return.

After Adam named the animals and saw there was no one like him, God gifted Adam with a helper, a partner who was perfectly and uniquely suited just for him. Upon seeing Eve, Adam remarked, “this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.”  He acknowledged not only seeing Eve but that he saw another body-person like himself.  We have no idea what Adam truly felt because we have always had body-persons around us.  Adam not only saw another physical body for the first time, but he also saw somebody, another person who bore the Image of God.  There must have been such a sense of joy which flooded his being!  Adam’s unique solitude was gone forever.

Continued

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1 comment

  • An excellent article! Intimacy is the key to healing – intimacy with God our Heavenly Father, Savior, and Friend and those in the Body of Christ who can be transparent and loving – those who want to know another soul and be known. Thank you! By the way, I first read this article in the January/February newsletter, and it was so good it brought me to the website so that I could share Bob’s article with our ministry. I found the complete unedited article even better! The description of the intimacy between Adam and Eve and then the description of the Trinity is awesome! Thank you, Bob!

By Rev. Bob Ragan

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