Before sin entered humanity and made a complete mess of things, God walked with Adam and Eve in His Garden; see Genesis 3:8. He provided for all their needs. He tended to them like the loving Father that He continues to be today for us.
God’s love is very distinct. It is recognizably different than anything else. It is unconditional and eternally enduring.
Even on God’s saddest day ever, read the entire chapter of Genesis 3, His love just shifted. He continued tending to His children despite the rebellion that occurred. Even when God had to banish them from His presence, His love never waned. He simply loved them in a different way.
Outside of the Garden, Adam and Eve had to provide for themselves, “God sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made.”3:23 They had to work now. Life became toilsome, yet, God never left their side. His presence had to shift from physically being with them to a spiritual presence. While they couldn’t see God, He remained with them guiding, providing for, and protecting.
His very distinctive love has not changed. You and I (and every person past, present, and future) is loved by God who guides, provides and protects. Although Satan tried to pull a fast one on God by deceiving and lying to Adam and Eve, God was ready to shift gears. When He is the Sovereign God, the Creator of the universe, the Lover of every soul, nothing takes place without Him knowing about it.
“And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.” (Hebrews 4:13 ESV)
As you study the Old Testament, God spoke to His children through prophets. Their messages were all preparing for the arrival of God, Himself, to come and personally lead His banished people back to Himself in a very distinctive way. Through God the Son, Jesus Christ, He chose to become a man who remained sinless to save all of us from sin. For 33 years, He walked and talked and ate and felt every emotion that we do. He felt sadness, and tiredness, and hunger. He understood the feeling of being ignored and rejected.
Yet, He came to set man free from the bondage of sin by dying on a cross so He can become the Liberator of all sins! He resurrected from the dead which put Satan in his place. Death has been defeated. God’s very distinctive style of love offers a way back to Himself.
By the work of Christ, on our behalf, the Holy Spirit now lives within every person who decides to believe God the Father, receive God the Son as Lord and Savior, and walk in obedience with God the Holy Spirit. It’s like God restored the intimacy that He had with Adam and Eve in the Garden before they chose to look away from God and His provision for false counterfeits instead.
Coming under the tutelage of the Trinity, you walk with God in all completeness. The hard part is that God lets you choose if you want to come under His authority or not. As He faithfully woos you to Himself all the days of your life, Satan continues to lie and deceive just like He did with Eve and Adam. Following Jesus is a day-to-day lifestyle. You must choose whom you will serve each day.
“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15 ESV)
Do you see God wooing you? What false counterfeits are you falling prey to that is blinding you to His wooing? Have you come under the tutelage of the Trinity or do you think you can handle life your way? Don’t let Satan, this sinful world, nor your flesh dissuade you from following fully the One who eternally loves you. He has a place for you in His Kingdom.
Carol J German 