May 2 I Monday

1 Kings 12-13

Luke 22:1-30

“Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”    —Genesis 2:7

We learn from Genesis 1 that God created all things. He made light, the sky, the seas, the land, vegetation, stars, planets, and animals of every kind. He declared all of these things to be “good,” but the capstone of His creation was humanity. It was after creating us that He said creation was “very good” (Genesis 1:31), though we do not learn exactly how God created the first man and woman until Genesis 2.

      Scripture says Adam, the first man, was created from the dust of the earth. His origin was in common with the animal kingdom, but man was made special when God breathed “the breath of life” into his nostrils. This is not physical but spiritual life. The word for “breath” here is literally translated as “the Spirit of God,” which means we could just as accurately translate the opening verse of this devotion to “God breathed His own Spirit into Adam.” In other words, when we receive the Holy Spirit after believing in Christ, we are not receiving something new but the Spirit of our Creator who was always meant to indwell us.

      As Adam began to work the Garden of Eden and take care of it, introducing man’s two primary functions as provider and protector, God said of him, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). This raises the question: Since God had declared creation to be very good, then how could it be not good for the man to be alone?

      The simple answer is that it was very good that it was not good for man to be alone. God was not caught by surprise by man’s need for relationship, for this was a desire God created in him. Man is a spiritual being who needed the life of God and was built to be in relationship with Him. Man is also a social being, needing fellowship and relationship with other living things. This includes companionship with animals and friendship with his fellow men and women. But man is also a sexual being, created with a desire and need for sexual relationship.

      From the day of Adam, God designed the human race to be spiritual, social and sexual beings. We are set apart from the rest of creation because we were created to have the Spirit of God live in us. Our desire for relationship is normal and good, built into us by our Creator. We fulfill the “very good” of God when we live relationally with Him and with others, as mankind was originally created to live.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for my friends, family and relationships of all kinds. May these relationships be glorifying to You as we work together and enjoy fellowship in Your name.