A LOVE STORY

From Genesis 2

Long, long ago in a land now hidden by time and eroded in failure, there lived a man. He was no ordinary man, for this man had been given a name— Adam, which means earth.

Adam was made by the Creator of the earth, who gathered a fistful of dirt into His hand and breathed His life into the man.

This Adam was the king of all God’s creation, designed to watch over the beauty, to cultivate its richness,

to partner with God in His work.

And the work was good. Filled with delight and joy— fun.

Adam’s first task was to identify and catalogue and name each created animal. How he must have laughed as he traveled throughout the land investigating anteaters and koalas, eagles and eels.

Words flowed as he watched these created gifts burrow and cavort and tuck in their tails and chase the moon.

Perhaps he ran his hands down the ridged back of a rhinoceros. Or scratched the ears of an elephant. Buried his head in the mane of a lion. How he must have laughed at his first sight of a zebra— those gaudy stripes his glimpse into his Master’s flair for drama

But he laughed alone. No snicker echoed his, no smile in response.

And God saw all that alone— the wandering and the wondering and the hoping. He saw that it was not good.

Not good at all.

And God’s heart reached into Adam’s and felt his ache down deep.

In that moment an idea was born.

God, who lived in three, would make Adam to live in two. A matched pair— different, but alike. Designed to fit with God, to mirror His beauty,

to laugh with Him and joy in His work.

To do it together.

And so God, the Creator, created again.

First He laid the man on the soft earth and let him rest there; filled his nostrils with the scent of pine and cradled his head on a pillow of peace.

Adam slept deep.

And while his man slept, God got to work.

Forming, sculpting, crafting, smoothing, God’s smile wouldn’t stop as He added a little here and softened a little there.

Beauty.

Intimate, radiant, God-made art.

A gift for Adam from God.

When the time came for God to give His gift, He shook Adam’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Awake, my son, and see.”

Yawning wide, languishing in that netherworld between rest and reality, Adam opened his eyes. What he saw shocked all sleep from his body.

Exquisite beauty.

Hair tumbling down rounded shoulders, arms reaching out to him, skin the color of the earth warmed by the sun, eyes that laughed and wept and saw… right through to his wildly beating heart.

Eve.

And so the story begins... God’s first love story.

For the next several weeks we’ll be delving a little deeper into God’s intent- the why’s, and the what’s, and any how-to’s God may have imbedded into His story.

And because no two stories are exactly alike, and God’s love shines through all sorts of cracks and crevices created by all our differences, we’ll be posting other tales of love. Not fairy tales, mind you, but real stories about love and loss and mistakes made and hopes dashed… and Redemption. Great doses of that Grace He pours all over our undeserving lives and the Mercy that makes us long for more of His love.

But we need something from you...

We need your questions.

Every other week or so we’ll serve you a story… and on the other weeks we want to sit a while and talk about it. All those wonderings and wishings and wanting to do this right. We want to know- I want to know- what worries you.

I am on of those older women now; the ones who are given the call to teach and train and encourage and coach all you younger women. It’s a task I relish.

And my husband, Phil, is an older man, expected to “promote the kind of living that reflects right teaching…” and living in a way “worthy of respect”, “wisely”, filled with strong faith and lots of love and endless patience. (Titus 2)

With Phil as my wise counselor and the Bible as my guidebook, I’ll attempt to answer your questions about love and relationships and what God wants. And when I’m pretty sure my response is not enough, I’ll seek out others who know a whole lot more than me.

Together, we’ll delve the depth of God’s heart and discover the beauty of the gift He gave so long ago.

Looking forward to your questions…

From my heart,

Diane

Send your questions- any questions- via email to hespeaks@ajesuschurch.org.