Adam and Eve

PSALM 51:16-17
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

I am so amazed by the mercy of God. He is so in love with us. I was reminded today of the story of Adam and Eve and how they truly KNEW God. God shared His creation with them. God even gave the task of naming the animals to Adam; God had a real relationship with Adam. I can picture Adam throwing out names to God and Him smiling and laughing with Adam. I love this story because it is such a pure example of the relationship that God desires to have with us. Then you read about how sin came in and how Adam, who truly knew God, still chose temptation. When I had read this story before I really wondered why God would put a tree in the garden that could destroy such an amazing relationship. But if you think about how vast and wide the garden would have been. I don’t think that it was just a few trees and shrubs here and there, no God would have had the most lavish garden farther than our eyes can see. His garden would have the most beautiful things and the most delicious fruit and amongst all of that beauty was one tree and this was the only tree in the whole garden that God said not to eat. God told them not to eat of it because it would only bring death upon and separation from Him. Even then I would ask, but why would God allow that tree to exist in His garden? I believe it was because God loved us enough to give us freedom. God wanted us to desire after Him, to have thoughts and opinions. What I love the most is that after Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit God still seeks for them.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they had hid from the LORD God among the trees in the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”.(Genesis 3:8-9) Wow I can hear the grief in Gods voice. I wonder what it sounded like to hear God walking or what tone God used when He asked where they were. He already knew what Adam and Eve had done and He knew where they were but still He cries out to Adam.
Adam answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”(Genesis 3:10-11) I love that God was asking questions not because He didn’t know the answers but it was for Adams benefit.
Then Adam responds, “The woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”(Genesis 3:12) Adam is blaming God and the women and not owning up to what he has done. And you can already see the difference in the relationship with Adam and God; the instant separation. God in the same way that He called out for Adam I believe that He is calling out for everyone today.
He knows where we are and how we got there but He desires us to see how He sees our lives. The God that laughed with Adam wants that closeness with us. God wants us to own up to what we have done, not to bring condemnation but to bring us forgiveness and healing so that you can have a relationship. God knows the paths that we have taken, He knows what has led us to sin and why we made the decisions to sin,so we shouldn’t be afraid to come to Him with all our dirty sin and broken hearts. We can never surprise God. He knows all about our lives, He has been waiting for us to cry out. God knows that sin tastes good and that our temptations are real but He has called us to so much more. God has called us to life! God desires us to walk with Him, to know His heart, and to know His everlasting love but He loves us so much that He gave us the great gift of freedom to choose. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23). So there it is God being a gentleman, He loves us enough to let us choose.