Genesis 2:18-25

Genesis 2:18-25
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 All of this in search of community.  It's not good for us to be alone -- we're called to live together, to come together to encourage and challenge and support and love one another.  From the very beginning, God recognized that it's not good for us to be alone, and so we have been challenged to make it work in relationships.
  Now, relationships are tough.  We see this not long after, when Adam blames Eve for eating the apple.  Relationships mean we have to deal with someone else's problems.  We have to tolerate them and love them, even when they aren't being very lovable.
  But that also means they do the same for us, and in an ideal community, we learn about God's love through the love of those around us.  They love us when we aren't being very lovable, and in their love they are challenging us to be kinder, to be more gracious, to give of ourselves more.  In their love, they reveal pieces of God's love, and as we love selflessly, we do the same.
  And in the beginning, Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed.  They had no reason to be ashamed -- they were loved unconditionally.  May we seek to love one another in the same manner, that we don't drive others to hide parts of their lives out of fear they will be rejected, but we love with such courage that we can be vulnerable and reveal our weaknesses, that the selfless love of God, revealed in the love of the community, may heal each of us.