The Creation of the Gap

The Creation of the Gap

12/1/12

Many of us do not understand why God had to separate Himself from the human race when man decided to sin against the one law that God set into motion.  It is difficult for us to also understand why that separation had to be a permanent symbol in which all had to be subject to even if they really did not believe in God at all.  And many of us do not understand that the separation of the two parties is actually the beginning steps of the restoration process that God immediately set into play when sin had been dealt with in the garden.  It is all begins with this scenario and it continues to play out today.

A quick note before I start with the article.  I have struggled with this article for some time now, not because of its content or how to even complete the article.  But there is so much information that I have to share with you that I have come to the conclusion that it must be given in separate pieces in order to get the entire message out without it actually becoming a book, famous last words eh.  So please bear with me as I stretch this information into a series that will come out over the next few weeks.  It will deal with many points of restoration and how the Bible is filled with restoration concepts that we have overlooked, forgot about or even deliberately ignored.

Have you ever thought if Eve had at any time in her conversations with the serpent wondered why the serpent was on earth and wanting her to go against what God had commanded against?  It is a logical question but at the same time it is one that all of us should easily answer.  We have all at one time in our lives done something that we knew was wrong but decided to do it anyway no matter what the consequences might be.  Adam and Eve did know and they did understand the consequences of their actions after “the deed” had been done, what they probably did not understand was how their actions would define the remainder of humanities lives and to what extent that damage would have on all of us.

We have a clear picture of life inside the garden and all of the things that it has to offer Adam and Eve.  There is no mention of work or need of anything.  The days are filled with joy and laughter and it is always a great ending to the day when their Creator shows up and has a direct face to face conversation with them.  Everything in their world is perfect and the rules are not hard to follow at all, which says that everything is yours to play with except for one tree and that tree should be left alone.

The two people that I have mentioned are the only ones who can understand how our bodies function at its complete state and who also bring to us our current physical situations in which there is no escape of death, now if is another setting that better defines irony I have not heard of it yet.  The Bible states that their eyes were opened and they instantly knew that their knowledge about themselves had changed so they did the next thing that a normal human would do in this instance, hide.  Boy the conversations that probably took place behind that bush on that afternoon. J  When I was a kid I did my share of boneheaded stunts, I will admit this.  Most of the time mom would tell me that I would have to wait until dad got home to receive my punishment and sometimes the waiting would be the worst part of it all because I really was not thinking clearly by doing the stupid things early in the morning, so I had hours to sit around and wonder about what was going to transpire later.

The same must have been true for Adam and Eve because they both knew that God would show up sooner or later and want to have the usual conversation with the family so to speak.  Adam and Eve sat in the garden and waited for God to show up.  This is ironic as well since we do the same thing sit around and wait for God to show up; this is not the time for that discussion, but think about it sometime.  Anyway, God as expected appears and begins to call for Adam and Eve who continue to hide and go over their plans together of what to say.  And boy do they ever come up with the best idea ever.  They tell God that they cannot come out because they were naked, well duh God already knew this fact but now the question comes into play of why are you even suggesting that you are naked and why do you believe this? 

Well, the cat is out of the bag I guess so then the next logical human thing to do is….begin the blame game.  And do Adam and Eve ever step up to the plate at this time and they both deliver a set of truthful blames for each other’s actions.  What is amazing is what God does next and it is not to destroy the very creation that is separate from all other creations but to begin the process of correction and restoration.  All of the parties involved in this mess now realize that the things that they had known all of their lives could not stay the same and that things were about to change.  Punishment had not ever been dealt to the humans since there had not been a need for it before, but there was one involved party that had already been stricken with a spiritual parting of the ways and knew what it was like to be separated from God.

God does not waste any time before the truth is known of what just occurred and the consequences that have to be administered to the parties involved.  As we look at the parties we can understand that the man, woman, and serpent are the ones directly involved in this situation and all three are addressed with their participating acts.  With the consequences doled out God then turns to the humans and casts them out from the garden.  This act is the most hurtful and the most damaging to God as well for it is an act that permanently separates His beloved creation from Himself.  Both man and God realize that this will be the last true face to face discussion with each other for quite some time and this is the most painful act that God is forced to abject onto His people.

The next example that I am going to use will be a central example in this article but it will also appear in future articles as well.  It follows a scene in which we all have read or seen but it one that is not complete until a certain portion of the picture is changed.  Many of us have seen where there is a picture of a large piece of ground that has a huge gap down the middle which divides the piece of ground into two halves.  One side usually says something like “man or human” and the other half says “God”.  And this picture represents the division that exists between man and God.  This is an excellent portrayal of what really exists and just how close we are to God yet we are so far away at the same time.  This gap was created when man sinned and chose to listen to the things of the world.

The gap is impenetrable from the human aspect in such that in our imperfect state of existence we cannot actually reach the level of “perfection” that God represents.  Our condition itself cannot coexist with God’s holy state nor can it even approach god to even ask for another chance.  The gap has been forged in front of us so wide and deep that we dare not step out into the unknown space.  What is painful for the human is that the gap is so wide and deep which we recognize yet as we see forward we can see God and everything that He has created within our lives.  But the separation goes before us even when we try and get closer to God for it is this realization that causes God fret over the distance between us and it is also for this reason that He has provided a way to Him.

Satan even though he is reeling from his new sanctions still claims the victory since he too realizes that his goals have been accomplished in the fact that God has to separate Himself from the human just as God did with Satan when he decided to go his own way.  A time of gloating was indicated and the party began in the world of Satan until God’s next step was taken.  When God said that man had become one of us and that he understood good from evil, Satan knew that this could only mean one thing and that was God would provide man an option to redeem himself by having a choice to follow God.  For why would God make this statement if he did not have a backup plan already in place?  This act was not only the saving grace for humans but it also served as the cornerstone of the hatred that Satan has for humans since he was not given the same opportunity to choose God again.

So from the beginning of sin into the life of humans God has provided a plan for us to choose His ways once again.  The road is narrow and tough and there will be many distractions along the way but it is possible that we have a complete restoration with God to override the casting out from the garden.  The decision to cast out Adam and Eve from the garden is the act that creates the gap between God and man.  God had no choice to create the separation due to the fact that He cannot be subject to unholy ways or conditions, not that He will not but He cannot be present in these unholy circumstances. It is not a matter of God turning His back on humanity either.  We have plenty of examples throughout the Old and New Testaments that support these concepts.  The gap is still here and the Bible is still here and it is our responsibility to shed light on ourselves and to others that the Bible is about restoration and how God allows us time to understand this process and that there is a Holy way to Him.

DLB