When we read the story of creation, we can clearly see how man was created for a blessed and intimate relationship with God. Man was made in the image of God Genesis 1:27 and given life with God's own breath Genesis 2:7. From the very beginning, God intended man to live under His blessing and in dominion over creation: "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" Genesis 1:28.
Being in a perfect relationship with the Almighty God meant there were guidelines for living; "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" Genesis 2:16-17. But this relationship also meant there was an unparalleled level of fellowship; "He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name" Genesis 2:19.
Can you imagine such a relationship of love? Can you imagine being in such intimate fellowship that God actually talked with you about the names of animals? Now, can you imagine the heartache when that relationship was shattered by sin? "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it" Genesis 3:6.
In this one act of disobedience, Adam and Eve said, "We do not believe!" For at the core of every sinful action is a heart which does not believe enough to trust that what God says is absolutely true. And the results can be devastating!
"So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." Genesis 3:23-24
We completely miss what happened in the garden if our picture of God is that of a bearded man on a throne with a judgment calculator who says from a distance, "They didn't follow the rules, send them away." That is not the God of the Bible! God gave life, sustenance, blessings, direction, and fellowship; and yet, the receiver of His gifts trusted and followed a lie. The consequences of the first sin must have broken God's heart – though, I don't fully understand what this means.
Our Father still longs for His children to believe and return home. We've been away far too long and He desires for us to come back into His loving arms. And if we would take time for an honest examination, we would find a painful longing that wants only to return and be held close.
Let's not wait another moment. Let's begin right now to walk with a consistent belief and end the pain of separation.
- steve troxel
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