What Adam and Eve Can Really Teach Us About Love

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While we don’t know the exact period of time Adam and Eve enjoyed their relationship with God without sin as it is unspecified, we know for a time, they walked with God in perfection, uninhibited, freely communicating with Him, free of fear, no sin, no sickness, no evil and no distractions. In a reference in Isaiah 51:3, foretelling the future of the city of God, Zion, it says that God will make “…her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.” From that scene, we can imagine a sunny day, soft clouds, vibrant flowers, pristine pools of cool blue water, birds twittering and the sweet sound of a woman’s voice singing happily and melodiously. It’s the kind of stuff that we envision when we think of dreams and fairy tales, but it did happen, once upon a time, and it is promised to be a reality again in the future. Here are five things Adam and Eve can really teach us about love.

Love Should Not Destroy Us

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Adam and Eve offer an incredible blueprint for love. Before the fall, we can see an example of what human love should look like. We see through their example that love originally led to happiness. Contrary to what we see in so many relationships today, love did not lead to misery but joy; not selfishness but selflessness. Not secrecy, but transparency and nakedness without shame (Genesis 2:25). The first experience of love among man and woman is “original solitude.” In this, man realized that he is unique before God. He is unlike anything in the created order and thus has a unique dignity. Through their relationship, we see that love should always uphold our individuality, not degrade or destroy it.

The Enemy Will Try to Destroy Your Relationship

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Satan constantly tries to persuade us to disobey God. If we aren’t careful, the devil’s subtle ways can be our downfall. Satan strives daily to undue everything that God has accomplished, including healthy relationships. He is crafty and sly and will tell us whatever it is he thinks we want to hear in order to get us to disobey God. It is important that we are conscious of this in our relationships. We also learn that we can’t hide from our mistakes. When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, they tried to hide themselves from God with little success. Thy still had to face him, and answer for their mistakes. No matter what we do in our relationships, we will one day have to face God and answer for them.

We Are Made for Love

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Scripture tells us, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him” (Genesis 2:18). In these verses, we see an example of “original unity.” Through this experience, man realized since he was unique, he must also be a gift. Before this, everything that God made was good. From this, we know that man is not to be alone or isolated because we are made for love and love happens between persons. This unity included a unity of body and soul, the unity of man and woman in humanity and unity between God and man. Love should not only fulfill us physically, but also penetrate our souls. It should also deepen our relationship with God.