In the garden of Eden, Adam walked with God, He fellowshipped with God. God gave Adam all the animals to name, everything that was beneficial for Adam’s well-being, God freely gave him. It seems to me that if you read the beginning of the book of Genesis, Adam wasn’t even aware that he needed anything else, yet the Father wanted MORE for him. Let’s take a look at Genesis 2:15-22:
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “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, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. 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. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam, no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man.”
First of all, I’d like to point out the fact that in verse 2:15 above, God when telling Adam that he was free to eat from ANY tree in the garden, BUT the tree of knowledge of good and evil, notice that God said,
“WHEN you eat from it, you WILL certainly die.”
God ALREADY knew what was going to take place. How it must have grieved His heart… The other point I want to make, is that it clearly (as I stated at the beginning above) God that indicted it was not good for Adam to be alone. How amazing is our Heavenly Father, who gives EVERYTHING to us? As I think about this, I think about how we hurt Him by our decisions to go against what IS good for us, what IS right for us, often not realizing it until it is too late, and the damage is already done… You, see? We are truly NO DIFFERENT from Adam and Eve.
The ironic part that came to my mind today, is this – that place deep inside the very center of our soul was made to be filled by sweet fellowship with our Creator. All of our lives we fill it with substitutes that never really fill what is meant for only Him. Blindly, until (and if) we come to know Him and accept Him as our Savior, make Jesus Lord OVER our lives, we realize it ONLY when our eyes are opened. How ironic that the need with the fall was switched. No matter how much you love your husband or your wife, no matter how badly (if you are single) you long to be married. No matter how successful or financially set you are – there IS always a void (even if you are unaware of it) that can ONLY be satisfied with God… You may not want to acknowledge that or admit it out loud, but it STILL doesn’t negate the fact that the Creator created YOU with the full intent that YOU were made to BE in a deep, close, loving AND most of all fulfilling relationship with HIM.
At the very end of your life, it will be THAT that you think on. The treasures, houses, cars, fat bank account – whatever, won’t matter to you at that very moment, for you won’t be able to take it with you. It will be at that very point that you will wonder what was it all about? What REALLY mattered?
Personally, I know what it is like to love a person with all your heart. I know what it is like to lose them, through death. I know what it is like to be by myself, and here is what I have learned, some of which I already knew.
GOD HAS GOT TO COME FIRST
How ironic that what Adam had with God in the beginning is what we strive to get back once we recognize that NOTHING can fill the void meant ONLY for God. Another person CANNOT fill God’s place (nor should they). As a member of God’s Called Remnant, I find in my widowhood how thankful I am to God for allowing me to share life with my husband, Johnny. Johnny was a gift from God to me (and me to him). God loved me enough to allow him to be in my life, if only for 8 years. Although we did not have “quantity” we had a “quality” that some never get a chance to experience. I am thankful to God for the time that we had. I am even MORE thankful that I know Who my God IS. That He knows what it is like to lose someone – look at ALL the people who choose NOT to accept God’s gift of salvation, when God has done EVERYTHING, He can, to show His love for us. He has NOT held ANYTHING back. How that must grieve God’s heart, to love us and have some of us not love Him back in return. John 3:16 tells us so:
“God so loved the world, that He gave His ONLY begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him, shall NOT perish, but have everlasting life.”
As I stated in the beginning of this post – God KNEW that Adam and Eve with the free will He created us to have, would sin and disobey His direction not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Can you imagine His pain at knowing that? We often think of our own feelings, but we don’t think of God’s.
GOD HAS FEELINGS
Maybe we need to think of that more often… We are created in HIS image, HE FEELS. Can you imagine how much it hurt Him to know that Adam and Eve’s disobedience would have ramifications for centuries to come? Yet we can’t simply place ALL the blame at their feet – because we sin JUST the same… But God had a “plan B” to reunite mankind back into a “RIGHT” relationship with Him. He loves us SO much that He left the glories of Heaven, born of the virgin, Mary, He clothed Himself in human flesh to meet us RIGHT here where we are. Jesus, He lived a sin-less life and took the sins of the world (your sins and mine) upon Himself, chose to die on the cross for forgiveness of our sins, rose from the dead and even RIGHT now is sitting on the right hand of the Father, interceding on your (and mine) behalf!
NOW TELL ME THAT THAT IS NOT LOVE????!!!!
In the beginning Adam walked with God. Adam had a close relationship with the Creator. God in His overwhelming love, gave Adam, Eve, because He did not want Adam to be lonely… But here is the thing, TRUE loneliness is being WITHOUT God. Honestly (and I am in a place where I can speak of both) – there is a loneliness that is felt being without my husband, I feel my loss of him deeply but compared to how much lonelier I would be WITHOUT my relationship with God, well THAT would be insufferable. Adam’s circumstances changed from one instance to another.
Because of God’s love – Jesus’ sacrifice, I WILL be reunited with my Johnny one day. But OH, the tremendous joy in knowing that I will be reunited FIRST with God my Creator, who loved us BOTH enough to make away for us to ALSO be reunited for ALL eternity with each other. God loves us more than we can comprehend. He has been after YOUR heart, I pray YOU will realize it and in turn, be after His.
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