In the Shadow of Eden

What was it like to once have intimate, face to face communion with the Creator of the universe and foolishly lose it? We in this modern era have no concept of how drastic it all must have been for Adam and Eve.

Of course, in the beginning, life was new. There was no history to repeat, no lessons yet learned, only experiences waiting to be. All they knew was communion with God and each other. The divine charge of husbandry over Elohim's creation gave them responsibilities. One must think that time spent in those duties probably flew by as they waited once again to be in His presence. To hear the voice of God calling to them made their spirits soar with a giddy anticipation.

"He is calling! He is coming!"

Oh, the rapture they enjoyed communing as friends without the curse of the veil that would soon separate God and man.

I cannot begin to fathom what that was like. Ever more unthinkable is what Adam and Eve experienced as they lived in the shadow of Eden. After the fall. To know that they had failed the One that breathed life into them...to realized that the very artisan fingers that expertly crafted them had pointed them to the exit they never thought existed is incomprehensible.

The scriptures tell us that God appointed an angelic being to guard the Tree with an otherworldly flaming sword. There was no going back for them.

How long did Eden remain until God removed it (or at least the Tree) from Earth? Did it happen right away? Was it finally dealt with at the Flood? No one knows. We can probably ascertain that however long it was around, it must have deeply vexed the very soul of Adam to live this very different life in the shadow of Eden.

How did they survive? How could they continue living happily knowing what had just slipped through their fingers? How did their souls fare no longer having the depth of relationship they once knew with the Father?

Facing the bitterness of the new reality of life, they held to one thing.

The Promise.

More on that later...

Now back to my suddenly introspective corner...