I am back in school, after a 37-year hiatus. I was reading in my Anatomy and
Physiology book about the chemistry of the human body, and came across
something I have learned several times in my life (high school chem, college
chem, homeschool chem, you get the picture...) but which always fills me with
awe at the incredible Creator God that we serve.
God can take a silvery-white metal (sodium) and bond it with a poisonous
green gas (chlorine) to make a white, crystalline substance that has healing
properties, preserves food, and makes food taste better, as well.
A. Mazing.
Two completely unrelated things, and one of them poisonous to humans, to
boot. (tho' does pretty well at bleaching your white things...) He designed
their outer valent shells (think back, your chemistry is still in your brain
somewhere!) to "desire" to have the full allotment of eight
electrons. Sodium has one electron in its outer shell; chlorine has seven.
Sounds like a "match made in heaven," right?
Exactly.
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall
cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." --Gen. 2:24a
When sodium and chloride get together, that's called bonding (ionic bonding,
to be specific). There's another type of chemical bonding called covalent
bonding. This is where the two elements share electrons. An example of
this is two hydrogens sharing with one oxygen to make water. Since we are 60%
water ourselves, we have a lot of covalent bonding going on already. But that
"two become one" thing--always difficult to grasp, though with a
marriage of almost 36 years (so far), I can "apprehend" it. God takes
two different things, putting them together to make something strong and
beautiful. Somewhat different from the original parts (tho' a marriage is not
as drastic a change as sodium chloride, right?) but better, stronger, and with
a shared purpose.
"Ye are the salt of the earth." --Matt. 5:13
Salt has so many
beautiful properties. It is healing. It preserves things. It tastes good! My
pastor says that we should work to make our marriages the very best they can
be, because Christian Marriage is the best picture God has, to show Himself to
the world. So I can say the same thing about marriage: it is healing. It
preserves things. It tastes good!
I suspect that marriage is an example of covalent bonding--the "shared
electron" thing. My textbook says that "the shared electrons orbit
and "belong to" the whole molecule, ensuring the stability of each
atom." Isn't that beautiful?
Whew. I'm glad we're not ionic bonding. Then one of us would have to be the "silvery
white metal," and the other would have to be the "poisonous green
gas." And I'd be a little afraid to ask God which one I am...
Prayer: Lord, help me to appreciate the
wonder that you can take two so very different people and make them one. And not only a patched-together
“one,” but “one” who, in relationship with You, has the power to heal others,
preserve society, and make life “taste better.”
Challenge: This week, as you take out that salt shaker, think about what it
does. It can heal wounds; it preserves foods such as bacon; and there’s no
denying it makes food taste better. Then think about these possibilities in
your marriage, and determine not to let your “salt” be “trampled underfoot.”
Barb K. 2012
Textbook quote taken from Human
Anatomy and Physiology, Marieb and Hoehn, ninth ed., p. 34.
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