‘Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1 V 28
There is something so beautiful and precious about when a child is born and you get to see the delight and joy in the face of its new parents. Marvelling at every new sound and movement their baby makes. I can remember when the first baby entered our family and we all sat around watching my little niece, the proud parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. The TV and normal conversation were replaced by watching this little one sleeping peacefully. At this point all we see is potential, all we think of are the possibilities ahead, all we imagine are the good days the Lord has in store. We are not contemplating the teething stage, the terrible twos, the worry over how they are doing at school, the harsh remarks of supposed friends or the arguing over nights out. We see the beauty of the moment!
Have you ever stopped to think for a moment about how the Lord felt towards Adam and Eve the moment he created them and placed them on the earth? All the thoughts he had had about them, all the times he had dreamt about them, all the things that he had planned. The attention that he had given to the incredible world he had created for them to enjoy. Everything was done for their benefit. The Lord had lavished his love on them. Adam and Eve, our first parents, were to live as priest-kings on God’s behalf, replicating and ruling over the world and representing his righteousness to all .They were destined to enjoy the blessings of eternal connection with God. There was only one thing the Lord required of them, one choice he gave them to ensure that their love back to him was a choice. Everything was given to them provided that they didn’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. To do so, however, would bring the curse of death on humanity. Unfortunately. Adam and Eve chose to disbelieve God and trust their own instincts about right and wrong. They sinned against God, fracturing the human-divine relationship, and plunged us into sin and death. This “fall” accounts for the brokenness and corruption we experience in the world today. You and I are living in the results of that - it is in the world all around us but it wasn’t the Lord's intention or design that it would be like that for us.
What Adam & Eve demonstrated was that as people we can never live up to our side of the bargain. We will always fall short. Despite our best intentions or our best efforts we can never perfectly keep to our word. There will always be an area in which we fall short and miss it. The problem is we can not deal with the consequences of our rebellion. We choose to disobey or not trust in the Lord’s way and yet going it alone brings destruction and pain into our world. Just like Adam and Eve were built to commune with the Lord and live from that relationship, we too live with the innate need for security, for health, for wholeness and to be complete. Everything that the Lord promises in SHALOM PEACE are the intrinsic needs that we have as people. But what incredible HOPE we have when we look at how the story unfolds, despite man’s rebellion the Lord never gave up on his creation. Throughout scripture the Lord has been making covenant with his people through Noah, Abraham, Moses and David all leading to the final fulfilment in Jesus who ushered in the New covenant of grace. So what does that tell you today?
God is in the business of stepping into man’s mess and rescuing him from himself!
Today every obstacle has been removed that could hinder you from receiving the Lord’s blessing. No matter how far you might think you have drifted or how dire you might think your situation is, the Lord has gone ahead of you and made a way for you to receive his love and grace. He has dealt with your sin and your rebellion, he is not surprised by your pride or your stubbornness. He has been dealing with it from the beginning of creation. He doesn’t give up on you or lower his expectations of what He has ordained for you. He has Shalom peace for you to enjoy everyday of your life.
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Unshakeable Hope Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2021