Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for today’s meditation is Genesis 2:18-25

¹⁸Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." ¹⁹ Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹ So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ Then 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. ²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Gen 2:18 ESV)

Laurie and I got a Shetland sheepdog puppy almost 2 weeks ago. We named him Jasper and he is about 10 weeks old and cute as a button. He is a little skittish. It’s been interesting watching him slowly get used to his new environment. At first he wouldn’t go outside, we would have to pick him up and carry him out the door and down the stairs. Slowly he figured out he could do what we were asking him to do, climb the stairs. Jasper wouldn’t cross the doorstep either. He would come right to the edge then turn and run back into the house over and over again. Finally, just the other day he finally stepped through the door and walked down the stairs. It was a good day. Slowly he is getting used to Laurie and I, our home, and the noises specific to it. There is something special about having a dog in the house. Jasper is learning the basics of what it means to be a dog in our house.

We too have basics we have to learn in our life. The basics form a foundation that we build on like learning the alphabet. Then there is the book by Robert Fulgham titled All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. There is some truth to that statement, some examples are share everything, play fair, don’t hit people, and be aware of wonder, just to name a few. They are the basics. If we learn and apply the basics we can build greater things. Even the famed Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi, had to stress the basics to his team when he said, "Gentlemen, this is a football." From the basics he built a championship team.

In our text, God states that something is "not good." Thus far everything he created was good. Notice He didn’t use the word "bad." Bad has so many meanings. It used to mean something was of poor quality or incorrect, or even wicked. Now it is used as a term meaning good or awesome. "That car is bad." I know a teacher that avoided the challenges of using the word bad by coining his own phrase of "un-good." He could tell his students "your grades are un-good" and they understood. Nothing God creates is bad. He said, "it is "not good" that Adam should be alone." In this context and from God’s perspective this means it is incomplete. God recognized our basic need for relationships. God is using the basics to build something bigger. He is using one man and one woman and joining them to make one flesh.

Notice that this relationship could not have happened if Adam had not first had a relationship with God. The relationship with God is the basic element. We have a basic human need for relationships. Our basic human need for relationships starts with Jesus Christ. For Jasper, that is the first step out of the door. That’s the Vince Lombardi quote "Gentleman, this is a football." That’s the share everything and play fair we learned in kindergarten. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is the basic building block for all of our relationships. Christ showed us the example of a good relationship when He described his relationship with His church. He is the bridegroom, the church is the bride. He was willing to give His life to save His bride; to save you. All His thoughts were on His bride and her welfare. He fed her, healed her, and raised her from the dead. He forgave her when He died that terrible, painful, and disgraceful death on the cross. He gave her eternal life with Him when He rose from the dead. You are the bride of Christ. Go back to the basics; spend time with your bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Strengthen that relationship by spending time with Him in the word and prayer. That is the relationship on which you build all other relationships, relationships with your spouse, children, parents, relatives, friends, neighbors, fellow students, and co-workers. Our relationship with Christ is on a vertical level. This relationship allows us to have relationships with each other on a horizontal level. We take Christ’s example and help one another. We are to build up the body of Christ, His church, rather than tear relationships down. Just like our dog Jasper, Laurie, and I are feeling our way through building a relationship where we can trust each other, we have to work to build relationships with each other.

Broken relationships started in the Garden of Eden. Sin affected the precious relationship between husband and wife. Sin also affected other relationships too; relationships with God, our families, each other, relationships within the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, and non-Christians. I see relationships between husband and wife where they have forgotten the most basic things, share everything, play fair, don’t hit people, and be aware of wonder. We have a hard time remembering things we learned in kindergarten. We need to get back to the basics of bringing Christ in the center of our relationships.

It’s time to take inventory of your relationships. Do you have strained or broken relationships with fellow Christians, maybe right here at church? Where is your relationship with your spouse or the rest of your family? Do you treat them as Christ treated His bride, willing to die to save her? I’m sure almost all of us have a broken relationship with someone in our family. Get back to the basics; bring Christ in the center of the relationship. Problems in any relationship are at least 50% our own fault, repent! Bring Christ back in. What about relationships at work, school, or maybe those outside your Christian circles? Is Christ there as well?

Ladies and Gentleman, this is a football. That is very basic! Let’s get basic with our relationships. We are sinful! We have sinned in our relationships and as a result they are broken. We can build and repair these relationships from a repentant heart. Ladies and Gentleman, Christ died to take away your sins. Ladies and Gentleman, you are forgiven. It doesn’t get any more basic than that. Now take that back to your relationships and build them up with the example of Christ; share everything, play fair, don’t hit people, and be aware of God’s wonder. Amen.