“Man and women were created, but they didn’t live on earth yet. We were blessed as the children of dad and mom, but we did not yet physically exist. God The Father, with the Holy Spirit’s help, architected man, like laying out our blueprints, but there were no people actually around.”
“The actual taking of the blue prints and creating man and woman was more the job of the Holy Spirit. It’s like God The Father built the garden and created the seeds, but The Holy Spirit is the one who planted and tended the garden.”
“Mom formed a man named Adam from the dust and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Mom and dad then planted a great big garden and called it Eden and placed Adam there.”
“Wait,” Jason said, “man was made out of dust?”
“Yes,” Austin replied, “On earth, we are made of earth. But our spirit and life aren’t made of dust, but given to us by the Holy Spirit.”
“Inside the garden was the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And so Mom and Dad told Adam ‘You may eat of every tree in the garden, but not of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, for the day you eat of it, you shall die.’”
“Adam nodded his head.”
“And then, Mom and Dad turned towards the garden and said ‘It is not good for you to be alone, Adam,’ and they commanded Adam to go into the garden and name every animal that they had made to see if any one of the animals would be a good helper for him. After weeks of naming the animals, he found that none would be suitable.”
“Adam was unhappy because he felt alone, and there was no one who he could truly share the garden with. Mom and Dad saw he realized this, placed Adam into a deep sleep, and took out one of Adam’s ribs. With his rib, the Holy Spirit made a woman named Eve.”
“Waking up, Adam looked at her and said, ‘This at last is a helper good for me. She is the bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.’”
“Adam and Eve walked around the garden naked and felt no shame. They spent time together playing with the animals, exploring, and grew closer to each other and Mom and Dad.”
Tim stopped Austin confused and asked, “But why didn’t The Holy Spirit just make Eve for Adam when she made Adam? Didn’t they know that Adam would need Eve?”
“And why,” Tim continued, “was there a tree that they could eat that would kill them? Why not just keep it outside of the garden?”
“Good questions,” Austin said. “One thing that God the Father and the Holy Spirit want for us is to grow and learn. One of the most important lessons for Adam to understand was that he couldn’t be alone. If he was given Eve right away, he never would have fully understood why he needed her. In order to see the true, Eve, he needed to first see the false, being alone.”
“Now, as Adam spends time with Eve, he can fully appreciate her in a way that he never could have without being taught this lesson.”
Tim nodded his head in understanding, but was more curious about the mysterious tree that could kill them.
“The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil wasn’t a poisonous tree, but it was a tree that gave whoever ate its fruits the understanding that good and evil existed. When you see something bad happen you can call it ‘Evil,’ or when you see something good happen, you can call it ‘Good.’ Adam and Eve in the beginning did not understand that.”
“What they did understand was closeness with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, like children to Mom and Dad. ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’ are things that are judged by God The Father, but Adam and Eve didn’t look at their actions that way. They didn’t want to be ‘Good’, they desired to be closer to Mom and Dad.”
“It was about their position. Having a relationship with God the Father and The Holy Spirit was where they found joy, and they knew that they didn’t want to be without them.”
“For example today, for reasons I’ll explain later, we have the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We might be tempted to look at the Holy Spirit and say that her withholding Eve from Adam was ‘Good’ or ‘Evil,’ right? But that’s not the truth. The truth is we need to look at she did as coming from her love and a desire for closeness.”
“As an example, let’s say Adam or Eve made a mistake. Let’s say Adam accidentally planted blackberry bush that ended up growing over pretty flowers, blocked the sun and killed them.”
“In the Garden of Eden, Adam would be unhappy with what he did, but would forgive himself and learn from his mistake. But on Earth, he may feel ashamed of what he did and really beat himself up. On Earth, he could call what he did ‘Bad,’ or ‘Evil’, but in the Garden, he wouldn’t ever label what he did like that. It was all about just being with Mom and Dad.”
“Does that make sense so far?” Austin asked, and Tim sort of nodded his head. “It’s confusing, I know,” Austin said, “just remember, there was no need for good or bad because they were with Mom and Dad constantly, they just were loved.”
Read Chapter three