First Love

A good friend of mine shared with me her perspective of the story of Adam and Eve the other day. I found it very touching, and hearing it in this new light made their story more personal to me. She talked about how the Lord commanded Adam to always be one with his wife. "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" Genesis 2:24 The Lord also commanded them to not partake of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As we all know the serpent convinced Eve to partake of the fruit, and once she had partaken, she wanted to share the fruit with Adam. Adam is now faced with a difficult decision. If he partakes of the fruit he will be breaking the commandment to never eat from this tree. On the other hand if he did not he knew that this would cause a separation between he and Eve for they were told "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" Genesis 2:17 I never really weighed the decision that Adam had to make. It's easy to read these stories and think of them as just that-stories. But Adam is a real man, and Eve a real woman. Adam was given two commandments that came to contradict each other, and so how did he make his decision? I personally would like to believe it was love. I know this isn't doctrine, but this new perspective has brought Adam and Eve's story to a new personal level. I am touched by Adam's sacrifice to follow Eve knowing that a big price would have to be paid. I can only hope as husbands and wives that we can be more like Adam. Cleave unto your spouses, not only in the good easy times, but also during the times they have done wrong. That is when they need you most. Love is a wonderful gift. Don't take it for granted.