A Love(ly) Story

Well, the airline tickets haven't gone down, but I'm still hoping! Just thought I'd let you know.

I'm telling you what, while I'm inside, this Florida weather's pretty nice. It's been raining a lot. If I haven't told you, I...love. Rain. It's just...so wonderful. Words can't express my feelings for Rain. We're pretty much best friends.

I was thinking the other day ("Oh no, she's been thinking again...") about back in Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned and God had to punish them. And I was thinking, I mean, you have to admit it does sounds a little cruel to kick them out of paradise for a mistake they were deceived into making. What made it so unforgivable? And then I got to thinking more (inspired to do so from a book I'm reading). And it occurred to me; this wasn't so much a breaking of law as a betraying of a relationship.

I don't think you and I think of this as relational enough. Most of the time, God, for me, can seem rather unfeeling in these situations. But it's the opposite of what's true. He was and is very feeling towards us. The crime Adam and Eve committed was against a relationship. They betrayed Him.

Adam and Eve were very close to God. They walked around in the garden and talked together for hours. I mean, they saw each other all the time and were really close. And then, they trusted someone outside of God; the enemy of Him. They said He wasn't enough. And they sinned.

God wasn't just upset that they disobeyed Him, he was upset that they loved other things more; glory more; knowledge more; themselves more. I mean, imagine this:

You fall in love. I mean, this person is so great and you are just smitten. You love everything about them. You'd do anything for them. You love just to hear their voice. And as it happens, this person loves you back. So you two live happily ever after... until you see them with another person. Their back turned and seeking something more from someone else. Of course, your heart is breaking inside your chest. Life as you know it has been altered.

For real, think about it. Would you even want to go on living? Would there even be a reason?

I think this is how God felt. The people he loved had betrayed Him. They guessed they didn't need Him anymore. I'd bet He cried for hours. I'd bet His eyes were red and swollen and His world was dark.

When you think about it this way, it makes sense and you see that God dealt with them mercifully. I mean, I can imagine the pain on His face and the broken voice in which He said, "Where are you?" and, "Who told you that you were naked?".

And then, we see that God banishes them from paradise and then the consequences of the fall of humanity and the entrance of sin into the hearts of Man. Does God act like a emotionless God? We can still see it as much. He could have said, "Oh well, Adam, Eve. You guys made a silly mistake and we'll just clear the record and you can have a re-do."

But how could that be? God is perfect and naturally, holy cannot dwell with unholy or else the holiness is lessened. Pure cannot dwell with impure. If so, what happens? The pure becomes impure. Light cannot reside with darkness. Or else what? The light dims.

So what does God need to do if He is to maintain His holiness (which He can't be any other way)? He must banish darkness until He can make a way to purify the impure. There is no choice.

I'm certain banishing the ones He loved broke His heart. I bet tears filled His eyes once more as He watched them walk away. Things wouldn't be the same again.

This adultry created a rift in the realationship between God and man. It meant He couldn't have direct contact with them. They could offer sacrifices and follow Him, but it still wasn't the same. A really direct relationship wasn't really possible.

But He still loved them. He still loved us. He wanted a relationship. He wanted to crush the one who stole His beloved away.

So He promised and said to Satan, "There will be a day when I will crush your head and you'll bite his heel." (speaking of Jesus). So God started making plans to rescue us even though we hated Him.

And so the day came when He sent Someone (Jesus) to come here and tell us that He still loved us and that He was going to save us. And so He did.

The day Jesus died was the day He took all impurity upon Himself and the day He rose was the day that it was possible for unholy to become holy, impure to become purified and dark to become light. The Deceiver was crushed, the rift mended, and a way was made for us to have a direct relationship with the One who loves us.

I think a lot of times, you and I think that Jesus died so we could make it to heaven. But it was more than that. He died for now. I mean, He died so you and I could walk with God now. I like that part. If I had to wait till heaven to be with God, that'd really stink. I think I'd probably give up and just make heaven come sooner. But lucky for you and I, we don't have to wait! Whew. Isn't that nice?

Sorry, guys, that was a mouthful. But I hope it made you think more about God and how He loves us. I'll let you go now. Have a wonderful day! Love you!