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Long before the Church was purchase by Christ, the home was ordained of God in the Garden of Eden. In the beginning the Creator spoke into existence the heavens, the earth, the fish of the sea and the animals of the fields; yet He concluded the sixth day with the creation of husband and wife charging them with dominion and care of the earth (Genesis 1:27, 28). So concerned was God with the quality of relationship of this first family and others that would follow–that He gave principles for its success.

“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). Within this scripture are three specific dynamics that are essential to the success of any home, Christian or otherwise: Leaving, cleaving and weaving

For any marriage to succeed, it is incumbent upon both partners that each leave his/her home of childhood and relinquish the priority of those relationships for the sake of establishing one with the new spouse. Far too many young marriages are jeopardized because of former attachments to parents have not been properly readjusted; in fact, mother and father have not been left behind but are along to the marriage where their involvement brings about eventual complications.

Once parents have been decisively left behind the process of cleaving becomes the business at hand. According to the Strong Bible dictionary, the Hebrew word translated into English as cleave is dabaq, which means to” abide. . .cleave (fast together). . . be joined (together) . . . stick.” In essence, it means husband  and wife are to be glued and bonded together in a close intimate relationship designed for a lifetime of experience.

Such a status for the marital relationship is not a once-and for-all achievement, but a constant process of intimacy that comes about only through nourishment and exclusive commitment to each other on the basis of selfless love. The consequence of cleaving is a weaving together of “one flesh” –first as a single entity that absolves itself from independent rights and personal concerns for sake of the marital relationship, and second in the production of an offspring that resembles both partners and concretely represents the single entity of the marriage itself. (See Matthew 19:5, Mark 10 : 7, 8. and Ephesians 5 : 31). Hence the dynamics of leaving, cleaving,and weaving provide the foundation of marriage and contribute to the growth and success of the husband/wife relationship.

In the Scripture, the role of husband , wife and children and their interrelationship, are given in detail. The fact that they are recognized as “family” roles in no way diminishes or discounts the various social definitions of what constitute a family in American society today. Indeed, they are significant numbers of “families” comprised of childless marriage couples, and single parents with children. Nevertheless, for the purpose of  this article, the nuclear family is understood to consist of the basic roles available to that unit; the husband, wife and children

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