In twos, Jesus sent out his seventy two – north, south, east and west. They went sharing the Good News that Messiah had come to deliver the land. In twos, God brought each species of creature – land and air to the Ark to deliver them from the coming flood. After God created Adam from the dust of the earth, God saw it was not good that he dwelt alone in the Garden. As a result, Adam fell asleep, and God made Eve to come alongside, where God extracted a rib. In that most wonderful act, God introduced marriage… male and a female. They became one flesh, even as God and man would later become, one with us. You and I, if we are born of the Spirit and the blood, we are two together – you and I, and we are one with our Great God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who themselves are one, and we with them.
This ‘two-ness’ goes well beyond what Solomon wrote: “Two are better than one… if either falls, the one will lift up his companion,” although this is what Jesus did in the end. Indeed, it goes well beyond what two – brought together on earth – can accomplish when the two enjoy an intimate relationship and find their fallen flesh is lifted up by a resurrected Savior. You see, what God intended for us was always about intimacy. While on earth it is a matter of two people, but in heaven? Each of us became one in Christ – as a member of the body of Christ – his bride. Two became one flesh, the resurrected, ascended incarnate God-man, Jesus Christ, and those who believe and trust on his name: those he lifted up.
I suppose this muse saddens me mostly because I know how sin brought ruin to my first marriage… and that sin needn’t be a physical act of adultery. No, any affection or fondness for the things of this world – other than what God has joined together, and they with him through his Son, is adulterous. As Jesus said, to even look upon a women in lust is such an act, why would that not be true of any other thing that finds our affection?
“I am a leg – man,” said one. “I am all about Legos,” said another. Indeed, is there any difference in the form that adultery takes? No, as my Lord desires a deeply intimate, personal relationship between those his father has joined with his Son – that includes those that he joined on earth… and we wonder why our society has fallen into such a pit: it’s all about the twos.
