In 2003, Sheryl Crow covered the old Cat Stevens song “The First Cut Is the Deepest.” In this song, she bemoans her first love, who wounded her so deeply that she now struggles to feel anything. She wants to love again, but because her heart is broken she doesn’t know if she ever can.

The songwriter’s first love has moved on, inflicting the “first cut”—the anguish of a once-intimate relationship now ripped apart. It’s difficult to say which is more painful: an outright split, or the dutiful drudgery of existence found in a loveless relationship. God’s plan avoids these lesser alternatives. He calls a man and a woman to join together in a permanent, fulfilling union that is filled with spiritual significance.

Our inherent yearning for a lifelong soul mate is rooted in the way we were created. Genesis 2 tells us that the woman was literally created from the man’s rib—from him. “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one” (v.24). In light of this, a broken marital relationship isn’t a cut; it’s more like an amputation!

More than that, marriage is a picture of Christ’s relationship with the church. We’re all wired for relationship with God. The apostle Paul elaborates on Genesis 2:24 by writing, “This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one” (Ephesians 5:32).

“First Cut” concludes, “I’m sure gonna give you a try.” It’s hopeful, but there’s a hint of desperation too. When we commit our lives to Jesus, it’s not a relational experiment. We will find that He is enough. We can even find healing for the deep cuts of relationships gone bad.