The First Conversation
How many conversations have you had with your creator? How many times in your life since you have been a Christian, or even before, have you opened your heart and your mouth before the maker of noses? I can't take credit for referring to God as, "The maker of noses," it is a song by Rich Mullins, I wish I could, I kind of like that one. Not only is He the maker of noses, He is the maker of all things, seen and unseen. Close your eyes for a minute and let that thought simmer and marinate in your mind.
From the most obscure insect in the Brazilian rain forest, to the furthest beam of light in the cosmos, and everything in between, our God and Savior is the originator and source behind them all. Every molecule in every grain of sand that exists within our universe, has been uniquely designed by the architect of life. Let that ruminate within the walls of your thought life. This is the God that you are bringing your concerns, longings and questions to. This is the God that invites us into a life-long conversation.
One of the most encouraging things about scripture to me is the people who I see interacting with God. The encouraging thing is that they are much like me. They are stubborn like Peter, deceitful like Jacob, liars like Abraham, and lustful like David. I am all those things and more, and yet, like them I am invited into a conversation with the maker of noses, a conversation that is meant to transform my life.
Every conversation we stumble upon between the creator and the created in the bible is marred and governed by the consequences of sin. Here are some examples:
"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, since you did not trust in Me, to treat me as Holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring the assembly into the land which I have given them." Numbers 20:12 NASB
"This is what the Lord says, behold, I am going to raise up evil against you from your own household: I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion , and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and in open daylight. Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has allowed your sin to pass, you shall not die." 2 Samuel 12:11-13 NASB
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 ESV
Do these conversations sound familiar? Whether it is the anger that burned in Moses or the lust that lived in David or the fear that consumed Joshua, we all have interacted with God on this level. No one is exempt from conversations that are filled with sin and the consequences thereof.
Before and since the man-God Jesus came on the scene, our dealings with the Lord have been mingled with praise, thankfulness, anger, sadness, depression and loneliness. Jesus, the sinless one, showed us what a life-long conversation with God looks like that was not marred by sin.
However, there was one human being in scripture, who dealt with their creator on a sinless level at one point in their lives. The first man, Adam, lived for at least some time free of the trappings of sin. Before that fateful decision, before that first bite, we know that Adam enjoyed sinless fellowship with the maker of noses. This is the conversation that I am interested in. What was it like to communicate and interact with God-Almighty before the fall.
Allow me to take some liberties and create a possible dialogue between the Creator and the created before Adam went left.
"Then the Lord formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." Genesis 2:7 ESV
Adam: Who are you?
God: I created you.
Adam: Who am I and what am I?
God: You are my very heart, you are the beloved of my soul.
Adam: Why did you do this?
God:My love did it, you are the result of love.
Adam: Why am I here in this place?
God: To walk with me, to talk with me, to love me, to glorify me by loving me.
Adam: What is all this around me?
God: I have created this for you. For you to experience and to enjoy.
Adam: Is this it, or is there more?
God: I have created you for forever.
Adam: What does that mean?
God: You were made with eternity in mind, to know me and be loved by me for eternity.
Adam: What is life?
God: I am life.
Adam: Will you always be here with me?
God: Of course I will, there is not a place where I am not.
Adam: What should we do next?
God: Let's go for a walk together.
And there it is. The great desire of the heart of God revealed in his final answer, "Let's go for a walk together."
Whether before or after sin entered into the world it has always been the desire of God to walk with his creation. Life is meant to be lived. And there is no greater way to live than to simply walk with God. And in the vast wilderness of God's grace he calls us into a life altering conversation with himself. In and through Christ we are allowed to enter into a conversation with the One who walked with Adam in the cool of the day. Like those before us we walk and talk with our God while entangled in the webs of our sinfulness. But because of the richness of God's mercy (see Ephesians 2:4) we are beckoned into a deeper conversation with our God. A conversation that is free from guilt, free from condemnation and chock full of mercy.
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