Creation and the Heart of God

Genesis 1:26 - Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...”

I'm reading the book Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. It's for our Tuesday Bible study. I'm not absolutely sure about this study yet, it may take a bit more time, but I read something that gave me another oh my gosh moment. 

John Eldredge, not Stasi, described the creation of woman. All the creatures were created, each more magnificent than the last. But God wasn't finished. He created Man...Adam, which means man and from the earth. But there's more.

God wasn't done. He had one other creation...woman. Listen, men, according to John, we are the piece de resistance! Woman was His final creation...and remember each one got more intricate. He wrote: She is the crescendo, the final, astonishing work of God. In one last flourish creation comes to a finish not with Adam, but with Eve. The finishing touch. She fills a place in the world nothing or no one else can fill.

All right men, you can stop laughing! And ladies, take note! I've heard for years that women we're always important. Jesus did not look down on women. He understood their importance in this world. There are many stories where women were used in mighty and important ways. It was even a woman, Mary Magdalene, once a sinner, who first saw Jesus after He had risen from the dead! I’d say that was important.

Woman means from man; Eve means life bearer and Eve was the mother of all who live. Like man, we too are created in God's image. He has many characteristics. He has His strong, masculine, warrior side and He has His gentle, female, loving side. All our natures rolled into one God. 

Men do differ from women...and both men and women agree on this, as was the case a couple weekends ago when we spent a few days with two other couples in Arizona and all agreed men and women have their own likes and dislikes. It doesn't make either sex wrong. We complete each other, as frightening as that may sound! We are supposed to complement each other but for some reason we sometimes look at the other with a gigantic question mark in our mind at the differences.

God Himself said it was not quite right for man to be alone. So He created Eve. Eldredge says that, to paraphrase, while boys are killing each other in mock battles, girls are negotiating relationships. While men are about the big things, women are into details. Women see themselves as a mother, sister, daughter or friend, or alone, abandoned by all these people. 

Eldredge explained that relational women take on the relational side of God...Eldredge said this regarding aloneness: This is not a weakness in women--it is a glory. That's where the OMG moment struck. A glory...that reflects the tender part of the heart of God. 

Women's desires and ability to have intimate relationships shows us God's desire and ability  for intimate relationships. He desires us... because He is a relational God, like women are. He can live without us, but He’d rather not. So whether male or female, we should desire this relationship with God, just as we live in relationship with a spouse, despite the  differences. Might I suggest that before we are in relationship with God we cannot conceive of the idea of this relationship! How can that be? It may even seem odd for a man to be in relationship with God...perhaps because tapping into the softer side of any man is difficult for some men to do!

Ladies can understand better the importance of relationships. They are a good thing to desire, Eldredge states. Men, take notice of that! I tend to be less desirous of a lot of relationships. It probably comes from my upbringing; more out of a reaction against being rejected than just not wanting friends. And men, God wants a relationship with you guys, too, like He had with Adam. So He can talk to you and share His thoughts with you, teach you things you would never have imagined. It's not just for women, who tend to be more open to receive.

As an aside, you might find this video by Mark Gungor on relationships rather humorous! 

OMG, created in His image, all of us having a small part of His vast character and nature. We should all be grateful for that. No matter what we think of ourselves, He created us in His image, both male and female. So to argue about our differences is really pointless! God Himself has all these (good) characteristics. In His strength we can be even more like He wants us to be. More of His image. 

Genesis 1:27 - So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.