Adam and Eve’s Better Together Marriage

A better together marriage is one where each spouse’s differences are appreciated. Neither spouse tries to change the other, instead they work together to temper each other and truly become better together. In this excerpt from our short eBook, Better Together, we take a tongue-in-cheek fictional look at Adam and Eve. Did they have a better together marriage? The actual story can be found in the book of Genesis.

Adam Meets God

Birdsong reached the man’s ears before his eyes opened. The melodies rose and fell, echoing all around him. The sounds made him happy and he felt the corners of his mouth turn up slightly. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled the aroma of something enticing. He wasn’t ready to open his eyes, but focused on each part of his body as it lay on the soft, warm earth. He experimented with wriggling his fingers and toes. Shifting slightly, he flexed his leg muscles. He moved his feet in circles and felt tiny tickles of soft grass on his toes. Alternately lifting his shoulders then releasing them onto the contoured earth felt good under his bare back.

“You’re awake.” The deep voice spoke softly above and to his right. The man turned his head in that direction and opened his eyes ever so slightly. He saw only soft green grass gently swaying in the breeze.

The deep voice spoke again. “Are you ready to sit up?”

He raised his fully opened eyes upward and around to his left. He saw trees, grass, bushes, but no person. “Where are you?”

“You can’t see me but I’m Father. You are my son. I named you Adam.”

“Adam. I like that. Hello Father. Where am I?” Adam sat up and looked around. In every direction there were lush green plants and trees. He saw birds flitting here and there and small animals scurrying around the trees. He heard the sound of gurgling water.

“You are in My garden. This is where you will live. Are you ready to stand up? We can take a walk and I’ll show you around.”

The Garden

Adam jumped to his feet and flexed his muscular arms. As Adam walked, he looked right and left at the flourishing garden. Father pointed out the different trees and told him about the fruit and how to tell when each fruit was ripe and ready to eat.

It wasn’t long before his stomach started growling. Maybe it was all this talk about eating fruit? “Father, is there some fruit I can eat now?”

Father laughed. “I expected you to say that. Look up at the tree in front of you, it’s got ripe fruit. Pick some and taste it.”

Adam saw a short, full tree with light green fruit hanging off virtually every stem. He carefully selected one of the round fruits and took a big bite from it. He chewed the fruit and swallowed. The taste was unlike anything he could describe. It set his taste buds alive, wanting more. He finished the fruit, then picked another and devoured it.  

Finally, Adam had his fill. “Thank you, Father. That was amazing. I feel strong and ready for what’s next.”

“Great, that’s what my fruit does for you. It’s to make you strong and healthy but it’s also tasty and beautiful to look at. I created it that way, so you would receive every kind of enjoyment from it.”

Tree of Life

Adam reached the center of the garden, and he came to a stop in front of a gigantic tree. His jaw hung open. He craned his neck to see the top branches. They reached high into the heavens, but the fruit grew low enough along the branches that were within his reach. The trunk of the tree was so large that Adam couldn’t reach his arms around it. “Awesome tree.”

“This, my son, is the Tree of Life. Isn’t it magnificent? You can eat freely of this tree in any season. Every month it will have different fruit. Each one is a different color and flavor. But this isn’t the only tree that will give you fruit. Every tree we’ve seen so far is for you. Each one has different fruit and gives you different nutrients. Some are just for fun, for you to enjoy. Just because.”

Different from the Rest

Adam looked around at the wide variety of trees in the garden and he felt his heart beat a little faster. All this was for him? How could that be? As Adam panned his surroundings, he saw a small, crooked tree with spiny branches. Its leaves looked withered and spotted, and the red fruit had dark spots on it. They weren’t shiny at all.

“Father, what is that tree good for?”

“I like it that you noticed the one tree that is different from the rest. That is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That is the only tree in this garden whose fruit I forbid you to eat. You are never to eat that fruit, Adam. If you do, you will most certainly die because of your disobedience. You will be separated from Me and banished from this garden.”

Adam’s heart hammered at the thought. How could he survive without Father? “I would never eat that fruit, Father. The tree looks scary and horrible. I’m sure the fruit tastes bad too. Don’t worry about me disobeying You. I want to be with You forever!” Adam turned away from the crooked tree. “How can I ever thank You, Father? I have everything here I could ever want. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Tasks suited for Adam’s Identity

“Well, there is something I’m going to ask you to do while you live here. You will be the caretaker of the garden. Don’t worry, I will tell you what needs to be done. Each season there will be different kinds of work to do. Your work is very important, to ensure the trees grow strong and their fruit is good for you.”

“I can do that. It sounds like interesting work. I’m glad You will give me the rules so I can follow them. You will see how perfectly I will accomplish everything. I’ll keep track of everything and make sure I don’t forget anything. I’ll record every detail so I can monitor my success.”

Adam heard a chuckle from above him. “Sounds good, Adam. You’re so dependable and organized. I do have another job for you, not an ongoing job like keeping the garden. It’s a special one-off kind of job. Are you interested?”

“Sure, anything. What is it?” Adam clapped in his excitement at being able to do something special for Father.

“I’m going to bring each kind of animal to you. There are a lot of them. And I want you to give names to each kind of animal. Some will be flying animals, some will be living on the ground. What do you think?”

“I’m on it. Bring them on.”

It’s not Good for Adam to be Alone

Eager to please Father, Adam worked for hours carefully observing each pair of animals brought to him. He paid attention to their reproductive organs, to the type of food they ate, and how they moved around. Classifying them according to their kinds, he noticed that each animal and bird had a mate. The mates were the same kinds, but they had significant differences. When they had offspring, some of them stayed together and took care of the young ones. He saw how they supported each other, and he could imagine how nice it was for each animal to have someone like them, someone who would be by their side throughout life.

Adam looked around when he was finished and even though he knew he did a great job, he felt empty. He wondered if it would ever be possible for him to have offspring. If so, how would that happen? He didn’t see a creature who looked like him, who he wanted to be with forever.

Someone Like Me

As Adam sat deep in thought, he heard the Father’s voice. “Well done, my son. It looks like you’ve completed your assignment. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, Father. I did my best. But, I noticed something …”

“Yes, what did you notice?”

“Well, I don’t want to be ungrateful, but I noticed that there is no one like me. Did you plan for me to have offspring? Is there someone for me, who is like me and yet different? I’m not sure how to describe how I feel, but it’s not a good feeling.”

Adam heard his Father’s deep voice rumble with a sympathetic aww. “Adam you have discovered a Truth. It is not good for you to be alone. I’m glad you noticed your need and came to me with it. I am going to make you a helper, someone who is like you but different. Someone who will balance you, who is a counterpart to you. This person will be suitable for you as none of the animals were. This person will complement you and the two of you will grow to be One.”

Adam suddenly felt sleepy. He looked down at the cool grass and was compelled to lay down in it. Just a little nap and he would be ready for the next adventure. He closed his eyes…

A Better Together Marriage?

The rest of this story can be found in our free gift to you: Better Together. It’s an eBook where you will learn how Adam and Eve could have been better together and how you and your spouse can too. There is a free personality assessment included, and charts to compare you and your partner’s personality similarities and differences. Practical suggestions are provided to help you become better together by embracing each other’s differences.

There’s a lot we can learn from Adam and Eve. Their patterns are really not so different from ours today. Invest a few minutes and create a better together marriage.