The First Marriage III: Against all Odds

Everyone would think Adam and Eve were the most blessed couple. They had it all going well for them (at the beginning) - a garden marriage, all provisions made, and just enjoying the garden life. However, we know that from Genesis 3, things went awry. They faced a ton of challenges that can shake any marriage.

Every marriage will have challenges, and so did Adam and Eve's. But it's what you make with the lemons life throws at you that matters - are you making lemonades or allowing the lemon-squeeze bring you tears?

Let's explore how Adam/Eve in the first marriage responded to the many lessons life threw at them.

Eviction and labour pains

First, they lost their home and had to endure pains in labour for Adam and childbearing for Eve. This was a classic fall from grace to grass with literally no room for restoration. Their verdict was final, and their lives were completely changed. Leaving Eden into the wild is simply unbearable.

It's like leaving Buckingham Palace to the trenches of a war-torn state. It doesn't ever get worse than this.

Food for thought: Adam/Eve lost their home and all their investments - they went bankrupt, but they stayed together. Marriage is for better or for worse, even if you lose all, never lose the union God has joined together.

Ageing and Decay

We tend to forget that before the eviction from Eden, there was no decay. Mortality is a concept of the fall. In fact, we see that God even further reduced the human mortality rate in Gen. 6:3 to 120 because of sin. Ageing and decay, which before hand were aliens to them, now dwelt in their bosom

Food for thought: Ageing together is beautiful. To see a marriage that has been weathered but strong, one that has deepened, not just lengthened, with a shared language without words, is simply priceless. A life of shared history and interwoven memories is greater than the fireworks of youth - it’s a diamond in the rough. 

Losing two children

The prophecy of multiplication began to be fulfilled with Cain/Abel, but with it came with its challenges. Adam and Eve lost two children - Abel was killed by Cain and Cain was lost to sin. In fact, the act of Cain could have reminded them of the sin of Eden. They gave birth to a son who is supposed to be in the image and likeness of God, but here he was making a mess of himself and blatantly stubborn to repent. Though God compensated Adam/Eve with more children (Gen. 5:4), this loss was big but yet they stayed together.

Food for thought: Adam/Eve failed in Eden together, were punished together, grieved for Abel together, and both were compen-Seth-ed by God together (Gen. 5:3). Every marriage is a best-selling story in the making, and such a story is like a pot of soup with a variety of ingredients - spices, salt, pepper, vegetables, water, oil etc. Each ingredient on its own is not palatable, but when combined, it produces a delectable meal. What finger-licking story is your marriage producing?

Final thoughts

Marriage will come with challenges, but like the three Hebrew boys who were tested by fire, if Jesus is the principal in your life, these challenges will come and pass with you being an overcomer. Every marriage is benchmarked on the marriage of Jesus and the church - a beautiful story of love well captured in Romans 5:8,

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

A marriage that, against all the odds of our lives, Jesus remains faithful to his marriage vow. He made the vow before we existed, and our sinful nature has not broken that vow.

Is your marriage built on the agape love of christ? Selah!!!