Leave And Cleave
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:24
This scripture has new meaning to me. I have never known it as clearly as I do right now in the wake of our sons wedding.
The process of the man leaving his family and cleaving to his wife is a necessary one. In fact, the very word " cleave" defines for us the process. Cleave, a verb, has two very different meanings. It can describe cutting or splitting something apart with a sharp instrument, or — oddly enough — it can describe sticking to something like glue. Both occurr in this cleaving process...the splitting apart and the sticking together... They just occurr in two different relationships. The splitting apart, or severing occurs with the parents and the sticking like glue occurs with the spouse. This is normal and good and biblical. I never noticed until now that this scripture says " a man" shall leave HIS father and mother and cleave to HIS wife. It doesn't say "a women" shall leave her father and mother and cleave to her husband. Why is this?
It's the job of Christian parents to train their children in the ways of the Lord. For boys we are to train them to be men... Taking on the responsibilities of a man and that of his household. They are to provide for their family, to love their wife as Christ loves the church and to lead their family spiritually. For this to take place, there must be a cleaving ... Or separating from the parental covering and a cleaving or sticking like glue to the covering of Christ and the relationship to his wife. If this does not take place, problems will arise. Boys become men when they are given the responsibility of a man. If that responsibility isn't given over completely and without interference from others (primarily mothers) their growth as a man of the home will be hindered. As a mom of three boys, I'm gaining understanding in this area. Moms will always be moms, but boys don't always stay boys. We moms have to let our boys become men. Is it painful and hard? Yes! Is it necessary? Yes! If we really want our boys to become godly men then we need to let go and let God have His way in their lives. We need to trust Him to mold our boys and shape them into men. Leaving and cleaving doesn't have to be so sad... It can be wonderful and exciting ... It's all how we look at it! Be encouraged moms when you're sad... That you are making a man not a boy!
