In the beginning, God graciously designed and spoke into existence a spectacular universe of awesome wonder, and a planet within that universe of astonishing beauty and splendor. The ever-expanding universe was to be the theater of His glory, at night providing a cosmic light show of stars and galaxies and comets shooting through the night sky, with a big round white light illuminating the earth, reflecting the immense brightness of the sun that brought light and warmth to each day (Genesis 1:1-20) (Psalm 19:1-6).
The earth would be filled with amazing wonders of nature – majestic mountains – pristine rivers – colorful forests and gardens filled with unique forms of animal and plant life – vast oceans teaming with innumerable forms of sea life – the skies filled with colorful birds of all sorts – all designed to reveal aspects of the beauty, wisdom and glory of the eternal God who created them.
God would then create mankind, Adam and Eve, in His glorious image and likeness – immortal spirits designed as male and female, both with His righteous nature and character – minds, wills, emotions and affections conformed to His, wherein we were fully capable of knowing, loving and being loved by God. We were created with the essential capacity to be amazed, astonished, awestruck at his greatness/goodness/and the glory of His grace, enjoying and being enjoyed by God and one another in our own unique persons (Isaiah 43:7) (Psalm 8:3-5) (Psalm 16:11).
Our immortal spirts would be clothed in physical bodies which would image aspects of the beauty, the excellence, the magnificence of our creator, able to experience the innumerable, awesome and diverse pleasures of God to be found in the creation and in our relationship with one another, beginning with the joys and pleasures to be found in marriage and family (Genesis 2:21-25) (Proverbs 18:22) (Hebrews 13:4).
God grants man dominion over all of the natural creation, to enjoy freely and fully, except the fruit of one tree (Genesis 2:15-17) and pronounces all that He has created as very good, meaning that everything in the creation was perfectly designed and ordered by God for His glory, and for man’s eternal happiness in Him (Genesis 1:28-31). Thus, God’s glory was to be most clearly revealed in mankind’s unabashed praise and thanksgiving for His goodness and grace, proceeding from a heart pulsating with sincere and uninterrupted gratitude (Exodus 33:15-19) (Psalm 9:1) (Psalm 100:3-5).
Tragically, this was not the response of Adam and Eve, nor of any who have proceeded from them (us). When God tests their heart’s response to His goodness and grace in the prohibition of them eating of the fruit of the one tree, instead of the uninhibited and spontaneous praise, adoration and thanksgiving from their hearts to the one who alone is worthy of it, they respond with contempt, discontent and ingratitude.
In the midst of the magnificent garden paradise in which they live with God, they are presented with an offer that they, and everyone since them have felt they cannot refuse. It was an offer not made by Don Vito Corleone, but by the first cosmic ingrate, the serpent, also known as Satan or the devil, who despite also being made by God and given the exalted position of chief of God’s angelic host, became discontent, to where in unmitigated ingratitude he covets and attempts to usurp (unsuccessfully) the very throne of God (Revelation 12:7-9) (Isaiah 14:12-15) (Ezekiel 28:14-15).
And this is essentially the offer the serpent makes to Adam and Eve – the opportunity to be like God; to have the freedom and ability to do or have whatever they determine to be good, dependent upon and accountable to no one, just like God. The serpent fosters in their hearts doubt about the goodness of God and His intentions in prohibiting their eating of the fruit of this one tree and assures them there will be no consequences for doing so (Genesis 3:1-5).
And in the ultimate expression of ingratitude, considering all that God has given them and made them to be, inflamed in their hearts with a sense of entitlement – that they deserve better, they believe and trust the serpent’s promise over God’s, and eat of the fruit. And immediately what God has promised in response to their disobedience, death – being cut off from the glorious life of grace in relationship with God begins to take effect. The corruption of their bodies and minds appears immediately. Adam when confronted by God on his disobedience, makes His ingratitude clear when He blames his disobedience on the defective woman God gave him (Genesis 3:6-12). He and Eve are now estranged from God and one another in their hearts and are ultimately banished from God’s glorious presence (Genesis 3:24).
And beginning with Cain, they will produce a race of men, women and children whose hearts tend toward ingratitude, always complaining (see Exodus 16:1-3, Numbers 21:4-6), always dissatisfied, always wanting more and better of the things of this world, none of which can ever satisfy the deepest needs and desires of our heart, while denying, disdaining and suppressing the truth of the only one who can, God (James 1:17) (Psalm 16:2) (Psalm 37:4).
The ugliness of our wicked and deceitful hearts of ingratitude are daily displayed in our murmuring, grumbling, and complaining, in our feelings of envy and jealousy, in the ever-increasing sense of entitlement and victimhood that is growing in our society and in the anger and frustration, the bitterness and resentment that is produced in our not getting whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want, just like God (Jeremiah 17:9) (James 4:1-6).
This is all a result of living in a world where nothing is the way it’s supposed to be, as it is a world wherein God, in judgement, has cursed the earth and given us over to our sinful lusts, disordered desires and ungrateful hearts, all of which end in death, our eternal separation from the goodness of God (Genesis 3:17-19) (Romans 1:18-31).
However, our gracious, merciful and infinitely good God has one more gift to give to man that will create and promote in man’s heart the joyful gratitude necessary to live our lives glorifying God and enjoying Him forever as He intended. And that is the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). It is this infinitely valuable gift that we will explore in my next post.
Grace and Peace ×
Thank you Jesus❣️Amen❣️