Sunday, June 26, 2011

When Adam Named Eve

So church this morning produced a bunch of different thoughts and questions in my mind. And it's awesome. That's how church should work and a sermon on wrath better have me asking lots of questions and thinking about a lot of various things.

But this post isn't really about wrath. It's about a side note in today's message.

Genesis 3:20 - Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

A little verse that probably doesn't get a lot of attention paid to it. It happens. Heather Zempel took a moment to say a quick word about Adam choosing Eve's name. I don't think it had ever occurred to me before that Eve didn't have a name until after they had gotten kicked out of the garden.

Her point was in the name chosen. Eve, the mother of all the living. After all that had happened, eating of the tree of knowledge, being kicked out of the garden, Adam chose to name her for what she would become. He saw and named her potential. Heather commented that men need to be thinking about how they name their women. And I couldn't agree more.

Women are to be cherished and loved. And we should be speaking to their potential.

But more then that, we need to be careful what we say to each other. Sticks and stones isn't really a true statement. Words hurt and you never know who's dwelling on what you say. Statements like you're a coward, you're a loser, you dummy, have a deeper and more lasting impact that we think. And we need to really be careful what we say. I'm guilty of saying some pretty hurtful things and I have no idea what kind of impact those words have had. I know I've said some things said to me that have had a negative lasting. I've also had some things said that have had a positive lasting impact.

Words that cure are always better then words that hurt.

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