Too often we blame your wife for partaking of the forbidden fruit. But you were there...RIGHT THERE! The scriptures say that, "she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." (Gen. 3.6) So the whole time Eve was being deceived you stood by in hushed silence watching her. Why didn't you say anything?
John Eldredge was astute in pointing out that, "there was a moment in Eden when Eve was fallen and Adam was not: she had eaten, but he yet had a choice...Adam chose Eve over God." Wow...you sat there with the fruit in hand and pondered life with Eve in a fallen state verses life with God untarnished. How long did it take before life apart from God seemed more desirable?
You spent leisure time with the Creator. Did he explain the platypus and mosquitoes? It must have left a lasting impression on you for it seems that you told your great great great great great grandson about it. Is that why Enoch decided to give it a try? (Gen. 5.21-24)
Were you afraid of forgetting? After you fell were you afraid of forgetting what it was like in Eden--the way it felt spending a cool morning with lions and wolves and cobras...and God? Did the memories keep you up at night? Did you sing songs to yourself, to make sure you wouldn't forget, until Cain, and Able, and Seth said "Dad, STOP! You're driving us CRAZY!!!" And you were frustrated because you felt like they didn't understand. What sort of things did it drive you to?
Did you go searching for Eden again? Like some sort of crazed person on a Discovery Show or the people in Holes?
Were you able to find Eden again?
Posted by: Holly | June 17, 2009 at 03:11 PM
What was your relationship with Eve like after you were banned from the Garden?
Posted by: K.O. | June 18, 2009 at 08:06 PM
Imagine Adam's dilemma...when he chose Eve over God...
"Wow...if I don't eat the fruit, then I obey God, but she might get mad at me. If I do eat it, Eve will be happy, but God won't. Hmmm. Well, I have to live with her and I don't want the fight."
Since that day, men have been making the same choice to follow, for the sake of peace, rather than lead. Choosing to follow Eve rather than taking a stand for what's right has resulted in a loss of dignity for men everywhere. You can see it played-out in commercials and sitcoms. The man is portrayed as a buffoon, a child, and someone who can't be trusted to make decisions...while the woman is portrayed as the wise and practical one. The evangelical solution has been to do whatever it takes to make Eve happy in order to avoid conflict(remember..."Happy wife...happy life!").
We have left Eve with no one to follow but herself, and have lost our confidence to lead her. She no longer is willing to trust Adam after a decision like that-even though she needs and wants him. And, deep down... all men can feel it. I have seen this played-out everywhere. Tragic. We have lost our God-given dignity...our hearts..and as Eldredge has aptly put it..."geldings don't reproduce." Our son's are watching...
Posted by: Sisu | June 20, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Whenever anything crummy happened (whether major or minor) did you feel like it was all your fault--like the weight of the world was on your shoulders because "through Adam's fall, we fell all." How horrible you must have felt about what happened between Cain and Abel!
And did we all inherit this interconnectedness of guilt, so that I have felt guilty, not only for the things I have done, but for my brother's sake as well. Adam, have I felt what happened that day in the garden? Was that what that heavy weight was?
Posted by: Holly | June 20, 2009 at 01:58 PM