Many times, we give Eve a bad rap for eating that fruit and opening the door for sin and separation. If she had known how much damage her little action would have caused, I am sure she would not have touched that fruit.
But, as a friend of mine always says, it is what it is. She ate it, generously shared it with her husband, and here we are today, reaping the fruit.
Paradise Lost?
Paradise Lost is an epic poem by John Milton (a very, very, very long poem). It tells the story of the fall in the garden of Eden. It is a critically acclaimed poem and rightly so.
But let’s imagine a ‘parallel universe Genesis 2-3’, where the serpent never got to deceive Eve. What could you have been doing in Eden that you cannot do now? Here are some:
- Run around naked. That can’t happen now. Even God upgraded the clothing that Adam and Eve had made.
- Be fruitful and multiply, replenish and subdue the earth. We are doing this.
- Till and cultivate the garden. So, we would still have been working, right? The difference between then and now was the curse that by the sweat of our brows we would produce. We moved from dressing the garden to tilling the ground. More work, yes, but work is still work.
- Having evening talks with God. You can talk to God in prayer today at any time you wish. Day or night.
Interesting. So, from the list above, there is only one thing we don’t do freely right now, and that is running around naked. We can still bear fruit, cultivate food from the ground, and most important of all, we can have long talks with God.
A daily conversation
God loves us and wants to have daily communication. He came to Adam, who hid when the almighty God was there to see him. Do you hide when God comes to see you? Do you refuse to listen to or acknowledge him?
Perhaps you desire to have a better relationship with God, but you don’t know how this talking thing works. Here are two ways to communicate with the Lord:
Pray
Stand, sit or kneel. It is your choice. But speak to God. Greet and appreciate him, then talk about what is on your mind.
Read the Bible and contemplate
Spend time quietly meditating on verses of scripture. As you study, verses will jump out at you. Think about them, and make notes on your thoughts.
You need to know more about a topic to carry on a conversation. So take time to read your Bible. You need to be present for a conversation, so make time to pray.
To what purpose?
A friend of mine asked me this question. “Prayer is communion with God. But to what purpose?” Why? What is this fellowship for? We took time to discuss it in detail. The summary is as follows;
To will and do of God’s good pleasure. To be all that he has called us to be. To fulfil our purpose, vocation and calling. To fully walk in and fulfil God’s calling on our lives, for it is not our calling. It is He who calls us, and equips us, and sends us. While sometimes at first we may not understand it, it all becomes easier and more glorious as we walk and work with him.
It is He who calls us, and equips us, and sends us.
Communion with the Lord makes any day better.
But don’t run around naked unless you’re ready to visit a certain type of hospital.
Lots of love,
Pamela.
