A Walk with God…..

An unspoiled beach…… blue-green breakers weaving their way to the shore ……….dolphins prancing around in the water….. …..palm fronds swaying gently in the light breeze…..golden sunshine dappling the shadows………a pleasant salty smell in the air …….seagulls squawking in the distance…….little bits of shell glinting in the warm golden sands…..all creation at peace and in harmony………..

Sounds like paradise huh? Such must have been the scene when Adam walked with God in the freshly created, lush and beautiful Garden of Eden.

The Word of God says the Creator God actually walked in Eden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). Imagine that! God Himself came all the way down here to enjoy a garden that must have been nothing compared to the marvellous architecture of heaven. I suspect that what the Lord came to enjoy was not so much Eden as Man himself!

The loving Father God who had created so many intricate designs, wonders of engineering, physics, chemistry and biology, living marvels in flora and fauna, had set his heart fully on only one of all His creations – Man……he that was born of clay …the spitting image of God and breathing within him, the breath of God……..Adam – the only one of his kind, born without a bellybutton!

God must have been very absorbed in the first human being, Much like a proud parent who points to a picture and asks the child to name it, the Lord brought to him all the animals that he had created and left it to Man to give them whatever name he wished….and it pleased the Lord to do this. He taught Adam to work the land and contribute in a positive way to the earth’s flora and natural resources. I like to think of the scene where God and Adam went fly fishing the very first time. They must have had fun!

God gave Adam the freedom to eat from all trees in the garden but one. He who gave his precious baby the whole earth, withheld this one thing from him because He knew Adam wasn’t equipped in any way to handle the consequences of discerning good and evil. Like most parents, He wanted His child to be innocent forever – a kind ambition that was not to be.

He gave Adam a wife for a helpmate and friend and the holy union of man and wife did not change the sweet communion that He shared with them in any way. If anything, I only believe it must have been strengthened even more. Now God had two people to love - a fragile human Man and his even more fragile wife! God must felt the protective, fierce rush of love that parents feel (watching their children at times) everytime he saw Adam and Eve frolicking with the innocence and naivety of children. In His heart, He must have had great dreams for them….dreams of perpetual happiness that would follow them all their immortal lives!

But then again, Man had free will and he had to spoil it all. One act of disobedience, one moment of betrayal and all was lost. God’s heart must have been wracked with pain when He saw what His children had done – they had destroyed themselves. Their walk with God was over.

But despair not reader, the story doesn’t end there…….because Christ died for us on the cross, today, we have a renewed opportunity to resurrect that deep and loving fellowship with God. In each of us, He sees Adam His firstborn and his love for Man is as passionate and committed as ever. He’s willing to let mankind take a U-turn from the road to destruction and extends to us that same friendship and companionship that made Eden such a blessed place. He’s reaching out today hoping you’ll respond….will you accept the invitation, to walk one more time with the King of Kings?