And God said, “ It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.”
Genesis 2:18-19 NKJV
BEFORE WE PROCEED!
When we study scripture, it is important that we translate our findings and meditate on them in a universal and present day context. The background question should always be “how is this of relevance to my life now?” This is where the bible takes it’s “Living Word“ status and comes to life, rather than remain as mere stories and historical accounts.
BACK TO THE MATTER
Looking at Genesis 2 from verse 15 we see (and draw relevance for our context), that God puts man in his presence. And in the presence of God man finds purpose as regards His place of service. That place may or may not be bound to a geographic location or line of endeavour. He, however, goes on to give man His word – instructions for living; instructions for operating in that space; conditions for success and failure, life and death.
In His wisdom and foreknowledge, He sees that a man who is at work rendering purposeful service, as well as judiciously aligning with His instructions for life, will inadvertently go down a a glorious rabbit hole.
According to idioms.thefreedictionary.com, to “go down a rabbit hole” means to enter into a situation or begin a process or journey that is particularly strange, problematic, difficult, complex, or chaotic, especially one that becomes increasingly so as it develops or unfolds.
“GO DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE”
Though the idiom above alludes to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, it accurately describes the glorious journey that awaits a man of purpose walking with God in faith. Such a way of life can get super lonely and hardcore that, in addition to God’s presence, one needs human contact. This informed God’s saying “It is not good for man to be alone.”
MAN SHOULD NOT BE ALONE
The importance of godly people to share such a life with cannot be overemphasised. These interpersonal pillars can take the form of mentors, spouses, family, friends, superiors, subordinates and colleagues. Their presence and shared experiences remind us that “we are not alone”.
Along with the support and collaboration that can be accessed from such a group, just being able to look beside us and see brothers and sisters in arms walking on water (stumbling, sinking, getting rescued and put back on their feet, trying again, and thriving, and growing) goes a long way to serve as encouragement for us in our own walk with God in life and godliness.
Here’s what’s interesting. In God preparing us for the destiny relationships that will propel and keep us in actuality, he brings to us a series of prerequisite people and resulting relationships to ”see what we will call them”.
What we call the relationships in our lives; what we call their results; how we assess them and the people that comprise them, goes a long way to determine our outlook on life. Our outlook on life goes a long way to determine our attitudes, thoughts and behaviour. Our perspective on life goes a long way to enable us see and make moves and adjustments in our lives that prepare us for future relationships and work in line with God’s intent.
Prerequisite experiences and relationships are brought by God as a way to see what we will call them:
Do we see our past relationships as mistakes or lessons? Do we learn to love from lovers and also learn to love from observing oppressors? Do we consider our past and present to not have any value worthy of note in any way? If negative in all aspects, do we see life as a wicked place with no opportunities for good? Are we forgiving? Are we open to being repentant to those we hurt? Do we consider our past and present to be total wastes of time or classes in wisdom? Pitfalls or wide open opportunities?
It is important that we “call” people and experiences correctly in order to “see” the benefits of those experiences and relationships no matter how good or bad. This is because the whole point of “prerequisites” is to prepare us for “the next it”. If we fail to call them correctly, chances are we will waste or abuse the goodies ahead.
But those who learn to call their past and present experiences and relationships correctly become better stewards of the experiences and relationships to come.
CHARGE
Are you calling your past and present correctly? Are you prepared for the amazing friendships, collaborators, investors, staff, colleagues, spouse, family, children, community and amazing experiences that life has in store for your future?
Find grace and help to do so in Jesus name.
See Genesis 2:15-24
