Love, love, love - H
Well, I hardly know where to begin this entry. What I want to talk about is Adam's first thought in the Garden of Eden. The facilitator at the retreat I went to over the weekend prompted us to think about what it might have been like in the Garden those first moments after God had breathed life into Adam. What was he thinking, feeling, etc.?
Well, so I had a few inspired thoughts about that, and the more I think about it, the more important I think it is that we as children of the Heavenly Father understand what man's relationship with Him was like in the beginning. I can say that it's completely revolutionized the way that I think about what it is to follow Christ and his example of life, and no I'm not exaggerating. The most profound change, I'd say, is that the things that seem hard to do in following Jesus really don't seem much to ask b/c He is first my Creator and next my loving Father.
So, here's what I imagine it was like for Adam when he first opened his eyes. I imagine that he was simply fascinated by all that was around him, and he was exploring everything, just like a young child. What are those furry creatures that are hopping around? What happens when I pull the petals off this flower? He touches everything, smells everything, tastes things, and tries to take it all in. Then there's God, the Father, watching and simply delighting in Adam, thrilled that he's so happily enjoying His creation in the Garden, all the beautiful things that he created for his first son. He's thinking, "What's Adam going to think when he touches the rabbit and it hops away? His reaction is going to be priceless! I wonder what he's going to think when he smells his first flower or tastes the fruit on the trees. They're so yummy!" He is simply delighting in his son, so full of love for him and Adam is so full of love for his Daddy and so secure.
My relationship with J helps me understand this better. These days I'm so delighted by her and am so full of love for her. Everything she does is just so cute to me, and I just love watching what she does and hearing what she says. One incident in particular, though, reminds me of what it must have been like for Adam and God in the Garden in those early days. Last week, after changing J out of her jammies, J was in the dining room by herself. E and I were in our room chatting and getting ready for the day. We hear her footsteps as she's running to our room. She's all wet, especially her socks, and she says, "Change my socks. All wet!" She'd taken a cup of water and spilled it all over herself and the dining room floor, and my reaction was to laugh in delight b/c she was just so cute and then we changed her socks and cleaned up the mess. She didn't have any reservation or fear. She didn't try to hide the mess. She came straight to Mommy and Daddy to ask for what she needed, completely confident and secure.
I imagine that God is like that. He doesn't first think to yell at us for making a mess or remind us, "Didn't you read in the Bible about how you're supposed to do it this way?!" but that He's delighted that we're trying new things, enjoying them, and growing and developing. Most of all He loves us through it all. He's still so delighted by us b/c we are his kids in the way that I've been delighted by J of late that even when she creates more work for me, I can just smile at her with love. That's the only way I know to explain it.
Well, so I had a few inspired thoughts about that, and the more I think about it, the more important I think it is that we as children of the Heavenly Father understand what man's relationship with Him was like in the beginning. I can say that it's completely revolutionized the way that I think about what it is to follow Christ and his example of life, and no I'm not exaggerating. The most profound change, I'd say, is that the things that seem hard to do in following Jesus really don't seem much to ask b/c He is first my Creator and next my loving Father.
So, here's what I imagine it was like for Adam when he first opened his eyes. I imagine that he was simply fascinated by all that was around him, and he was exploring everything, just like a young child. What are those furry creatures that are hopping around? What happens when I pull the petals off this flower? He touches everything, smells everything, tastes things, and tries to take it all in. Then there's God, the Father, watching and simply delighting in Adam, thrilled that he's so happily enjoying His creation in the Garden, all the beautiful things that he created for his first son. He's thinking, "What's Adam going to think when he touches the rabbit and it hops away? His reaction is going to be priceless! I wonder what he's going to think when he smells his first flower or tastes the fruit on the trees. They're so yummy!" He is simply delighting in his son, so full of love for him and Adam is so full of love for his Daddy and so secure.
My relationship with J helps me understand this better. These days I'm so delighted by her and am so full of love for her. Everything she does is just so cute to me, and I just love watching what she does and hearing what she says. One incident in particular, though, reminds me of what it must have been like for Adam and God in the Garden in those early days. Last week, after changing J out of her jammies, J was in the dining room by herself. E and I were in our room chatting and getting ready for the day. We hear her footsteps as she's running to our room. She's all wet, especially her socks, and she says, "Change my socks. All wet!" She'd taken a cup of water and spilled it all over herself and the dining room floor, and my reaction was to laugh in delight b/c she was just so cute and then we changed her socks and cleaned up the mess. She didn't have any reservation or fear. She didn't try to hide the mess. She came straight to Mommy and Daddy to ask for what she needed, completely confident and secure.
I imagine that God is like that. He doesn't first think to yell at us for making a mess or remind us, "Didn't you read in the Bible about how you're supposed to do it this way?!" but that He's delighted that we're trying new things, enjoying them, and growing and developing. Most of all He loves us through it all. He's still so delighted by us b/c we are his kids in the way that I've been delighted by J of late that even when she creates more work for me, I can just smile at her with love. That's the only way I know to explain it.
I think it's more important to understand this even before we understand our fallenness. After all, didn't love and perfect communion with God precede sin and separation? Yet, what I've experienced in my churched life is emphasis on sin and redemption first, but what I realized over the weekend is that I can more fully grasp and even experience the power and freedom of redemption from sin and God's sacrifice of His Son when, this fatherly, love relationship, which came first, is the backdrop. When this is the context of my relationship with Him, it's so much easier to follow him, to sacrifice what he asks me to sacrifice b/c how could I not love someone that loves me like He does? I'm so fulfilled and content that I don't really need to hold very tightly to anything else. Even when thinking about redemption, I think it's really the love of God that is so transforming. "For God so loved the world..." The backdrop for the ultimate sacrifice of his blameless Son is love.
posted by haed at 7:33 PM
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