Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
It was the greatest love affair that has ever been on this earth: a man had met the woman of his dreams. His loneliness had been the most painful ever felt on earth; his life a profound emptiness until he came face to face with her--then suddenly his life was thrilled with meaning. She was the perfect fulfillment of his dreams, every cell of his being in love with her. There was "no rose in all the world" until she came, no star that shone until her light arose on him.
The one man who has known the most of what it means to be a man in love was Adam, and the woman whom he loved was Eve. She was indeed God'sgift to him, as the Hebrew tries to tell us, "an help meet for him" (Gen. 2:18, King James Version), or "answering to him." Just perfectly what his soul longed for.
And then she had transgressed the holy law of God, her sin the prototype of billions of sins on earth to come. And she seemed to be so happy in her new found freedom of rebellion against God; a new life, a new freedom, a new wonderment. That gorgeous creature, the glorified serpent had introduced her to real lifeand she became an instant "missionary" for her new life treasure. She longed to share it with her husband. So Eve became thetemptress of all time.
In a flash Adam knew what had happened when she handed him the forbidden fruit; God had not forbidden them to touchit--only to eat it. Holding it in his hand, Adam had not sinned. He knew what was involved; he saw these 6000+ years of anguish stretching before them. But oh, how could he separate himself from her, the woman of his dreams, his love? Seizing the fruit he thrust it into his mouth--love for her must win this struggle, not devotion to God. And so sin entered this world.
Has any man ever sacrificed the love of woman for fellowship with Christ? Christ Himself knows love for a "woman," love that absorbs Hissoul. We sinful humans can only pray, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief" (Mark 9: 24), or transliterated, "Lord, I love You, but help my weakness in my love for her (or him)!"
None of us can be "worthy" of Christ; but He says the truth: there comes a time when we must yield "the dearest idol I have known, whate'er that idol be" in devotion to the One who went to hell for us, for He alone is agape(Matt. 10:37; Luke 14:26). We're closer to Eden than we may have thought. Whom do we truly worship?
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 20, 2007.
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