Now the fifth gift of Adam was to cultivate. Adam's gift of cultivation meant that He could improve whatever he put his hands to. Wherever Adam went and he did, things got better. Is that the case with you? Are you secured and self-assured enough in your own identity and with the Lord God that you can improve your environment wherever you are? Before making a long-term commitment such as marriage, you need to consider this: Are you a "weed" that will constantly choke off the relationship, or are you rich "fertilizer" that will assist in cultivating and nurturing it? King Jesus gave a great illustration of the sower: “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Jesus explained the parable of the sower and the seed. Jesus was very careful to not cast pearl before swines.
The sixth gift was to protect. God gave Adam the responsibility to protect and guard his environment and everything that was in it. That meant that anything that was in Adam's presence was safe. Can that be said about you? Are people safe in your presence? Do you safeguard their confidences, their trust, and their dignity, no matter what? If you cannot be trusted to protect and honor the worth and parenthood of another person, you aren't ready for marriage. It's just that simple.
Now the seventh was "God's Word". Adam knew the Lord God's Word through a direct, face to face contact. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. He understood the principles under which the Kingdom of God were to operate, and exactly what God expected of him. It is only in the context of knowledge and obedience to the Word of God that any relationship can maximize its potential. My question to you is how well do you know the Lord God's Word? How much time do you spend reading, studying and meditating on it? That isn't a trick question. Just as a potential spouse should find you in Eden, he or she should also find you a diligent student of the Word of God, applying it to your life effectively every day. The knowledge of God's Word is essential to any truly successful and effective marriage.
Now when you are manifesting these seven gifts in your life, at least to some degree, and increasing in them; that is when God says to you, as He did to Adam, "It isn't good that you should be alone".
Matthew 13:18-23 Genesis 1:28-30
~~W.R. Luchie
The sixth gift was to protect. God gave Adam the responsibility to protect and guard his environment and everything that was in it. That meant that anything that was in Adam's presence was safe. Can that be said about you? Are people safe in your presence? Do you safeguard their confidences, their trust, and their dignity, no matter what? If you cannot be trusted to protect and honor the worth and parenthood of another person, you aren't ready for marriage. It's just that simple.
Now the seventh was "God's Word". Adam knew the Lord God's Word through a direct, face to face contact. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. He understood the principles under which the Kingdom of God were to operate, and exactly what God expected of him. It is only in the context of knowledge and obedience to the Word of God that any relationship can maximize its potential. My question to you is how well do you know the Lord God's Word? How much time do you spend reading, studying and meditating on it? That isn't a trick question. Just as a potential spouse should find you in Eden, he or she should also find you a diligent student of the Word of God, applying it to your life effectively every day. The knowledge of God's Word is essential to any truly successful and effective marriage.
Now when you are manifesting these seven gifts in your life, at least to some degree, and increasing in them; that is when God says to you, as He did to Adam, "It isn't good that you should be alone".
Matthew 13:18-23 Genesis 1:28-30
~~W.R. Luchie
