BE ONE

 by Tammy Phillips
February 20, 2023   

“Therefore ,a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Gen 2:24 NKJV)

I knew this verse was next in line for the “BE” encouragements and thankfully, I was reminded not once, but twice this week what it means to be one. 

Kris and I were invited to a surprise 40^th Anniversary celebration.  The man threw the party for his bride, gushed over her in his speech, brought me to tears, and asked her for another forty.  Not only that, but he also had  helped make one of her dreams a reality by joining her in opening a restaurant…the very next day.  What a picture of being one.

Secondly, at the same party, my husband and I were sitting  together at a table of eight, enjoying conversations, and the evening.  The restaurant was loud, roaring with chatter and a singer bellowing in the background.  Kris and I were  turned from each other and talking with different individuals.  From behind us we heard the woman sing one of “our songs.” Simultaneously, hidden from the view, we reached for one another.  We entwined our fingers and continued our conversations. In that brief moment, I was reminded, again, what it truly means to  be one.

What does it mean to be one? 

Often in sprouting relationships,  one person or maybe both will question, “How do you know if you have found “the one?”  Perhaps the correct question should be, “how do you know if you have found the right half to become one?“  Many selfishly enter into marriage thinking that they ARE the one.  Wrong.  The marriage union created by God is between two parts, two halves, a man, and a woman, who when joined together become one flesh.  Man and woman were made to be joined, to fit perfectly altogether, united as one. 

As a married woman of almost thirty years, I can say the marriage union is a miracle of God. It is a process.  Scripture says, “they SHALL BE  and shall become one flesh,” not they are one. Becoming one is not easy.  LaDonna McClain, a friend of ours once said, “Marriage is so much more than love. It is commitment.”  It is commitment to have and to hold, for better, for worse, in good times and bad, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death parts.

So many enter marriage with the thought that if it does not work out, there is always divorce.  What a way to enter marriage, thinking about ending before you even begin!  We should all enter marriage with thoughts of  holding on!

Kris and I have been through it all, better, worse and the worst; poor and rich; sickness and health.  Have we both wanted run at times?  Yes, but God!  We chose to hold on.  After we took our wedding vows, walked down the aisle, and came out the church doors, we made another spontaneous verbal commitment to each other, “THIS IS FOREVER!”

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made [them] at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ “and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joinedto his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.” [Mat 19:4-6 NKJV]

We entered marriage with a “hold on and be joined” mentality.  Do you know that the Hebrew word in Genesis 2:24 and the Greek word in Matthew 19:5 for “be joined” means the same thing.  It means to  cleave, cling, stick, stay close, keep close, stick to, stick with, to adhere, especially firm as if with glue; to be glued together; to cement; fasten together; one single by union; undivided; the same.

Why is divorce so hard?  Marriage between man and woman, designed by God, was NEVER meant to be separated.  It was, and is, to be two parts cemented and glued together, forever.  God did provide for a  conditional way out, but that is not His perfect plan.  His plan is one, joined, cemented together, forever. That is what it means to be one!

I enCOURAGE you singles to choose wisely with the guidance of God who your other half will be.  Those of you who are married, continue to work on becoming one.  Do not give up.  Life, children, work, family, other outside influences, and voices will try to divide.  Other things will try to chisel away at God’s cement and melt the glue that joins you, BUT GOD.  He is the glue that holds it altogether. “What God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Viva Magenta.  Live. Breathe. Be…one!