Sticking Together

When I was a kid, I would build models. However, I was really bad at it, because I would get glue everywhere. So when I decided to build a model as an adult, I thought I would be so much better at it. But I discovered that I was as bad as I always had been. Glue was everywhere.

Then I discovered superglue. It sounded so simple. Only a couple drops here and there would hold things together. But then I got it on my fingers, which the instructions warn against. So my thumb and index finger were stuck together for a while.

When Genesis 2:24 (KJV) uses the word "cleave" to describe the relationship between a husband and a wife, it uses a Hebrew term that speaks of adhering to or sticking together. It is to be attached by some strong tie. The verb suggests a determined action. So it is not that a husband and wife are stuck together, but they are sticking together. They are holding on to one another. There is nothing passive about it.

When we come to the New Testament use of the word, it is a term that means to cement together and stick like glue, so the two cannot be separated without serious damage to both.

This involves constant communication before marriage and during the marriage. In a poll that was taken among people who were divorced, 86 percent cited deficient communication as the number one reason for the breakup of the marriage. There was a communication breakdown.

Every marriage will have its conflicts, and couples need to learn how to resolve this. Cleaving together means putting the needs of your mate above your own. And as Ruth Graham once said, "A successful marriage is made up of two good forgivers."