Does It Really Matter?

Happy Friday, everyone!

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about intimacy and identity. Maybe this is because I am a newlywed or because the war on identity against men and women is so real right now!  It begs the question: What Is A Woman? Why does intimacy matter?  Do they go hand in hand?  Yes, yes they do.

Besides having XX chromosomes LOL, a woman is an imager bearer of God.  We were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), just as men were made in the image of God.

 We as women are not less valuable, important, or anything of that sort.  If anything, we are the final piece of creation that made His work (His creation) very good.  Woman (Eve) was the last thing God created, because the world was not right without her.  Genesis 2:18 -Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a helper fit for him.

 Not good is a jarring contrast to Genesis 1:31. The situation here has not yet arrived at “very good.” God brings to Adam all the livestock, birds, and beast of the field, yet none of these proves to be “fit for” the man. Helper is one who supplies strength in the area that is lacking.  It does not imply that the helper is either stronger or weaker than the one helped. Fit for him meaning matching him. She is not his clone, but she compliments him. 

 I don’t know if you can tell yet, but we are in the greatest romance there ever was or will be with Jesus Christ.  God the Father gave up His only Son so He could have relationship and intimacy with us.  Jesus gave Himself willingly like a gift, so that we can have access to the Father and Himself, and because of that, we get to have the Holy Spirit, living and breathing through us.  (Zephaniah 3:17)

 Sometimes, when I think of Adam and Eve, I wonder how close they must have been to the Lord.  It’s like they had the purest relationship and intimacy with God.  There was no sin, no distortion, and no spiritual fighting to remind themselves that they are loved, desired, and longed for by the Father. 

 Then one day, the serpent that was more crafty than any of the wild animals says to the woman (Eve), Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden? 

 Read a little more (Genesis 3:2-7)

 I never noticed this before, but when satan talks to Eve, he doesn’t specifically say which tree she has to stay away from.  He says, Did God really say, you must not eat from any tree in the garden.  It’s like this blanketed lie (deceit) that causes Eve to think and then she responds to it!  Satan is implying that God is withholding from her!

Based on her response, she knew what she and Adam were supposed to stay away from.  Now she didn’t know the cost of why she was supposed to stay away from that tree, but the fact that The Father (The One) that adores her, who she received the purest form of love from said to leave it alone, should have been enough.  The Father was trying to keep her away from harm, pain, disfunction and whatever else.  Perfect love never withholds the best from us.

How many of us have done that?  How many of us (myself included) have responded to a lie or entertained (a lie) when we know the truth? 

And unfortunately, because Eve entertained or stayed too long to listen and talk to the deceiver (satan) she ate from the tree and gave it to Adam.

It’s funny because so many people will blame Eve for the fall of mankind, but nothing happened until Adam ate from the fruit.  NOW I will say this, they are both to “blame”, but that right there, the fact that she gave some to her husband and her ate from it, shows you how much (influence, power, etc.) she had on Adam.  The same can be said about us.  Ladies, you can either control or influence your relationships especially for those of you that are married and that long to be married to a man. 

Eve’s identity was completely altered from a lie, but praise God for His unfailing love!  He had a plan, and that plan is and was Jesus! 

Genesis 3:15- Is the first promise of the Messiah Jesus Christ that is to come to bring us back into relationship, intimacy and access to His perfect love.  God has such an incredible desire to be longed for and loved (intimacy/romance). And to give it to us in return. 

Now, super-fast, I want to talk about the Proverbs 31 Woman.  This woman is the baddest woman of them all! 

She’s not the baddest because she can sew, or because she works vigorously, or because she has no fear.  She’s the baddest because of her intimacy with Christ.  She’s the baddest because her identity is in Him! 

Let me tell you right now, this woman is only able to do what she can do and the reason why her children call her blessed and her husband praises her is because she is close to the Lord.  She is in relationship with Him.  She has hidden Himself in Him and it has kept her.  She has intimacy and romance with the Lord. 

Ladies, our Father longs to be romanced, the same way we do.  Your desire for that is not wrong or in vain in its purest form.  Its purest form is in Jesus.  You were created to desire romance and love.

If you’re reading this and don’t know or believe in Jesus, that’s okay. Welcome to On Fridays, We Clean and know that the God of the universe is absolutely besotted with you. He loves you with a love that we’ll never truly understand because of our flawed understanding of love. He wants you to get to know Him and He’ll wait for you. You don’t have to be afraid of Him. Don’t believe the lies that He’s a mean God, pointing His finger at you and condemning you.  He loves you and is waiting with open arms to embrace you with unconditional love. You can give Him a chance. Give Him a chance to show you Who He really is, not what people have told you, and experience Him for yourself.

We love you, Jesus and I.