"But what struck me more were the interviews with the various musicians who consistently mentioned the love between Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash. What I've come across in everything I've ever read about him or by him is their their love grew over the years. they were more in love in their sixties and seventies than ever.
Their marriage got better and better.
They were more in love as the years went by.
Tom Petty said, "you just couldn't help but love her. John so depended on June, and he so bounced everything off June. It was such a deep love that it was great to see how the two of them were such a team, really involved in everything together, including the music."
Whatever it is that they had, it spread.
It spilled over.
It couldn't be contained by just the two of them.
It affected those around them
It inspired those around them.
Maybe when we meet older couples who obviously still love each other and love being married to each other, we're inspired because so many things around us are in the endless process of falling apart.
There's a mission here. Adam has been commanded to watch over the earth and manage it and creatively order it. Adam has something to do, and it's not good for him to do it alone.
... Adam says about Eve, "This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh."
"Bones" is a way of talking about strength, and "flesh" is a way of talking about weakness. He's essentially saying, "Where I am weak, she is strong, and where she is weak, I am strong."
Eve is a corresponding strength for Adam.
they fit together
They cover for each other
They're better off together than apart"
I really love the things that Rob Bell has to say. He brings an entirely new perspective to the same verses we've heard since we were kids. He can take a passage and relate it to life today.. That's what separates the teacher from the exceptional teacher. A preacher can throw out verses all day long.... Jesus could have done that. But he went beyond that. He wanted us not just to know, but to understand. So he spoke in a way that the people could relate to.
Back then it was all about fishing, drinking from wells, harvesting, planting, making bread, getting dust on your sandals because there was no pavement, and pretty much walking or riding everywhere you went. That's why Jesus told stories about "Come and I'll make you fishers of men."
So now, we have to take these stories and make them apply to us. We have the internet and paved roads, cars, planes, and big corporations. I think we have a hard time understanding what God is trying to say because we don't take the time to see where he's coming from.
We read verses like, "A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up, it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by them. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams."
And we get lost, wondering, "What the hell is he talking about? What's the point?"
It's easy to lose the point. I do it all the time. With school, with life, with planning, with the future. But somehow we keep going. I love Jesus for this, because in the next chapter a person asks exactly that, "What's the point? Why do you tell us these stories?"
He doesn't reject the person for not understanding, or for understanding too well what the others can't. He goes back through the story and explains exactly what he meant by what he said. He proves that the person who questioned was of worth. He had value. He made both the smart, and the not so smart feel like they had worth. the man's questions mattered.
How can I have this kind of love in my life? One that only grows?
Will I ever accomplish something great?
Can I encourage and inspire others to know how much they are valued and loved?
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