Courting Christ: Be His Helpmeet

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” – Genesis 2:18

In Genesis 2, we read that Eve was created to be Adam’s “helper”. In some circles today, it is taught that for a woman to be a helpmeet, she must be considered almost an “add-on” to the man. She merely adds decoration or increased capacity.

But that’s not the picture we get from God. In Genesis 2, we discover that man was considered incomplete and insufficient when alone. The man needed the woman. Woman was not created to be man’s slave, nor his boss. She is to come alongside him, complete him and enable him.

It is an interesting yet seldom acknowledged point that Christ’s sufferings are incomplete and we are to fulfill them until His coming. Paul said, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.[1]”

What is Paul saying? Is he saying that Christ’s salvation work on the cross was insufficient and somehow we must finish the job for Him? Not at all. He is saying is that Christ took on the sufferings of the world, helped shoulder some of its burdens and as His bride, we must do the same.

Jesus said that not only would we take on this aspect of His job, but that we would actually surpass Him[2]! Not only will we take to heart what He does, we will do even more! Our goal as His bride should always be to bring Him glory.

But because we still struggle with sin, even after we are His, whatever we do for Him must be done through His power[3]. We must glorify Christ. This is a command! We must surpass his works if we truly love Him.

Eighteen years ago, I married a woman who had never seen a boxing match, much less a full-contact martial arts contest. But because she loved me, she began to learn about martial arts and fighting in general.

She attended the fights: the ones in which I participated as a fighter, the ones in which I was a referee and the ones in which I was a coach. Why? Because she loved me. She became interested in the things that interested me.

Now I pastor a small rural church. And again, she has taken my interests and calling to heart. She organizes the worship services, prepares the bulletins, leads the choir, picks most of the music for the soloists, teaches children’s church, helps with VBS, plays piano sometimes and keeps me organized and dressed properly.

Jesus is passionate about alleviating suffering. Jesus is passionate about the poor. Jesus is passionate about saving the lost from a Godless eternity in hell. What are you passionate about?



[1] Colossians 1:24
[2] John 14:12-15
[3] John 14:13-14