I am so in love with my husband. God is doing some pretty incredible things in his life right now, shaping him into a man I could never have even dreamed of, both spiritually and physically (shameless plug for our new CrossFitting life).
I haven't been privy to much conversation with him lately, since both of us have been plowing through the craziness of June. But one conversation we did have has been rocking my thoughts. His insight into one of the most pervasive questions of Christian Theology just floored me. He probably learned it from his Perspectives class (another shameless plug), but the fact that he didn't just hear it but also digested it and then turned around and articulated it to a fellow believer struggling with the authenticity of the gospel and our God just floors me. I love him.
The conversation he had centered around a pretty hot topic thanks to our friend, Mr. Bell: How is it fair that anyone who doesn't accept God within their lifetime on earth doesn't get to go to heaven? What about those people who didn't have a real chance at understanding who God is? And friends, it IS a valid question, and one that is answered in Genesis 3.
Here's the scene: Adam and Eve hanging out in the garden. Unhindered communication and communion with God. Stop. Say that again. Unhindered communication and communion with God. Some days I wonder what that must have been like for Eve. See, I don't really have any issue with whether or not God is who He says He is in a cerebral sense. It's the relational aspect of God that I get tangled up with. Talking to someone I can't see (I hate even just talking on the phone). Listening for someone that isn't physically present (just ask my husband sometime about my listening skills - if he's honest, he'll tell you they are better than they used to be...). Letting down my guard. Relationally I struggle with God sometimes. So to think of Adam and Eve and imagine that they could SEE God, that they could talk with God FACE to FACE, that they were shameless enough to stand naked before God each and every day. That's just crazy talk to me.
And then enter the serpent who offers Eve the ONE forbidden thing in the entire garden. Remember - Eve has no "fall-back" for why she chose the apple. It's not that she didn't know what was right - the serpent himself even reiterated what God had instructed in regards to that tree. It's not that she couldn't hear God's voice or wasn't sure what he was saying to her - she had unhindered communication with him. It's not that God was absent that day - she had unhindered communion with him (and the scene takes place in GOD's garden). It's not that she didn't understand why God didn't want her to eat that fruit (though apparently, "you will surely die" is not a good enough warning - anyone with a teenager can tell you that much I guess). Then what's the problem? Why in the world did she eat the stinkin' fruit???
The answer to that question reveals why every excuse for every person in the whole world who doesn't choose Jesus is really just that...an excuse. Because if Eve - who was a perfect human being, formed by the very hands of God himself, with a perfect husband, a perfect place to live, perfect things to eat, a perfect body (I'm just guessing here, but it follows the logic), perfect understanding of God - if PERFECT Eve chose in even one small moment to disobey God, who am I (or anyone else) to think that I have even one small shot at getting it right enough my whole life in order to gain admittance to heaven? See, Eve (and Adam) demonstrated what EVERY person will choose for themselves in the midst of temptation, regardless of the circumstances. And when Eve (and Adam) chose "death" in the garden that day, they chose it for us all. We are born into the choice that they made. And yet the mercy of God through the love of Christ bore that punishment for us on a cross and made a way for us to one day experience that unhindered communion and communication with God in heaven, if we choose to believe in the redemptive story.
And if none of that made sense to you, Mitch Jolly says it better here (listen to Revelation 11:15-19) and here (notes to follow along with it). :) (But I think my husband did a pretty darn good job, if I say so myself).
