I was sitting in my Life group at church listening to the robust discussion between the teacher and a very astute class. I have the pleasure of teaching this same class next week. I was asking Father what He wanted to share with this group through me. As I sat there and listened, He gave me a revelation that kind of knocked my socks off!
I sometimes think we have the perspective that when God created this world He was hoping it would stay perfect. He made Adam and Eve in His image and likeness; which basically means He put His life in them and they in turn behaved like Him. They contained His Life and expressed that Life in their thoughts, emotions and choices. God also put a fruit tree in the middle of the garden that He told them not to eat from. He even told them what the consequence would be: death!
We as humans look back at that event and wonder "what if!" Of course, there was never going to be a "what if." Before God created the first molecule of the physical dimension, He knew Adam and Eve would disobey and eat that forbidden fruit. There was a cross planned before God created anything (Rev. 13:8).
So, the fall did not catch God off guard. He did not start out with Plan "A" and then have to switch over to Plan "B" as a back up. I think the bulk of humanity who believe in God may share that perspective. Of course, that was not the case. The Fall was a part of the bigger story of humanity, just as much as The Reconciliation.
Ok, so now there has been a creation, a fall, and a reconciliation. Now we are marking time, waiting for heaven. We are supposed to do the best we can to please God by following His commands, because one day He is going to say, "Well done good and faithful servant." I realized many years ago that this is not the case, and most of you know this also. We were created for relationship; we were created to participate with God in His Life.
As I was sitting in class, all these truths flashed before my eyes, truths I have come to know and love. God, however, showed me that when He desired to make a creature to fellowship with Him and participate with Him in His love, He designed a masterful process that would produce just such a creature.
As I thought about it, the genius of His plan brought me to such awe. It hit me; we are still being molded for eternity! As pure and innocent as Adam and Eve were before the fall, they were not ready for eternity. I'm not talking about from their perspective, but from God's. I believe they were created to function in their beginning state eternally, but in God's plan for this special creature, there was going to be a falling away and a redemption. God did not make them fall; He did not have to. He had made them to function as a free-will creature who could choose. They did choose God everyday from the time they breathed their first breath until the fateful day of the fall, but their everyday choices were devoid of conflict. (You are probably wondering where I'm going with this!)
In order for humanity to truly be equipped for eternity, there had to be a demonstration of God's love, His grace, His forgiveness, His mercy, etc... That demonstration would only follow the fall. Think about Jesus' parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). There was a fall in that story. As a matter of fact, all great stories have a fall before there is the sweet, sweet resolve of the reconciliation. Please don't think I'm suggesting we glory in the fall, there was no glory in that moment. That was the second darkest moment in all of history. The fall produced death. Out of death, however, God did what only He could do: He brought forth Life! That Life came out of the darkest moment in history, the moment God sacrificed His own Son because He loved us beyond our understanding. The Cross is not the end of the story, but it is where the story takes a turn for the best.
I believe we have already entered into our Sabbath rest because of Christ. Here on this earth, we are still experiencing the aftermath of the fall and how it has affected daily living. People struggle, people fall and fail, and people die. That hurts, and it hurts really bad. But God, who is still molding our souls for eternity, is walking through these dark times with us producing a glory that cannot be produced otherwise. Adam and Eve did not and could not experience that before the fall.
So what is the implication of this revelation? I thought about the line from the hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, "And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." We humans make so much of life here in this physical realm, to the point that whatever happens or does not happen here will make or break us. I'm beginning to see that all of that does not matter. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (NASB) The bottom line is, God wants us to experience the fullness of Himself. Struggle, affliction, trials (all results of the fall) lead us to experience aspects of God we would not experience otherwise.
You and I are complete in Christ; we are new creatures. However, we are still being made ready for that eternal relationship we will experience in eternity. Our spirits are ready now, but our souls are still in process. Wherever you are now, it is ok to be there. Don't look at your circumstances and say, "woe is me!" You can truly say, "Thank you Father!"
