Back to Eden

When God first created man and woman, Adam and Eve, in the garden, do you believe they were happy? Some of the time, or all of the time? I believe that when God first created us (humans) we were happy – all of the time. We were never unhappy in Eden – before the fall.
After the fall, different story. Do you think that Adam and Eve were happy immediately after the fall? The story gives us clues that they were unhappy. They hid their bodies from each other out of shame. They hid from God. They blamed each other for what had happened. They were not happy.
If you, like me, believe that our original state was that of perpetual happiness, then you could know two things: We were created to be happy. And we were never meant to judge what is good for us and what is bad for us.
Most Christians I have talked with believe that total happiness would somehow be a bad thing for us. They believe that guilt, shame, fear and other forms of unhappiness have their proper place in the Christian walk. But Genesis 2 shows us something different; an original plan for humanity that did not include these things. Whatever Adam or Eve did, they did freely and happily. They were like little children in that they did not judge their actions. They simply did them. They went from doing one thing they wanted to do, to the next thing they wanted to do freely. They were naked and unashamed. They were completely visible and free, nothing hidden. And they felt wonderful in that.
Did God want them to feel shame and guilt? No. He specifically instructed them not to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. How could they judge themselves as worthy of guilt or shame? They had no judgments whatsoever, about themselves or anyone or anything else. In effect, everything that happened was good.
But once they ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they knew themselves to be shameful and evil. So they hid, from themselves, from each other, and from God.
I often hear Christians talk about how God can’t stand sin. How He is holy, and when we sin he can’t be around us. But I don’t believe that. Because right after the Big Sin, the First Sin, God came looking for Adam and Eve. He came near to them. He knew what had happened and He wanted to help them. I know that because He made clothes for them. And rather than killing them (as had been promised), He chose to lovingly take them out of the garden so that they would not eat from the Tree of Life and live forever in that state of shame and self condemnation. If there is separation that comes between humans and God due to sin, it is on our side alone.
So how do we go back to that state of perpetual bliss? God came as a man through Jesus to die for us. Now we can know that all of our sins are paid for. We needn’t feel the guilt or shame. Paul says “For there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
We can choose, if we want to, to live in fellowship with God. We could know that His ways are best for us (because He created us and does indeed know better than we do) and we could leave the judging of others and ourselves to God.
We were never intended to determine for ourselves what is good for us and what is bad for us. We can live in a state of going from what we want, to what we want, with God in the picture. And when something comes up that we would want to judge as bad for us, we could remember that He promises to work everything for good for those who love Him. That is where I am headed: back to Eden. Where there are no specks in your eyes, and no planks in mine.