Conflict Zone or Safe Haven part two

Theology of Marriage – part 2

Genesis 2:18-25

Vs 23 - 25, (ESV) ²³Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."

²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. ²⁵And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Marriage is Divinely intended to meet man and woman’s deepest earthly need for intimacy. I believe we are created to yearn for the kind of oneness and acceptance Adam and Eve enjoyed in the garden. We earnestly desire to truly be one flesh with a partner we can be also be naked and not ashamed with.

“One flesh” includes the sexual act, but also much more. “Naked and not ashamed” – also much more than just lacking clothing without embarrassment. They Include emotional and spiritual openness and full disclosure of our heart.

Remember, these two, Adam and Eve, were innocent humans free from any taint or impairment of sin. No brokenness to deal with – no taint of inner sin, no influence of sinful society, no baggage of imperfect parenting. Few if any marriages will perfectly reach this level of intimacy. And yet this is what we yearn for.

Safe Haven Marriage

Dr. Archibald Hart and his daughter Dr. Sharon May developed the concept of “Safe Haven Marriage” out of Emotion Focused Therapy. I believe this gels with the theology we’ve considered.

Premise – We long for a caring, connected relationship in which you are each heard, understood, valued and a source of love and comfort for each other. We are created to yearn for a relationship as close to Genesis 2 as we can get!

6 Key Building Blocks of a Safe Haven Marriage:

Chosen and Committed

Trust

Available and Attuned

Responsive

Repair

Becoming (self reflect, influenceable, willing to grow/change/mature)