Then the Lord God 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)
Presents and Faith
What kind of Santa Claus would come out of the fireplace and ask, “Ok kids, what toys do you want to buy?” A gift is free. A gift has no strings attached. A gift is unconditional.
My grandfather gave me his treasured harmonica when I was ten years old. I am not sure what he expected me to do with that instrument, but I did not choose my actions well. Within an hour I HAD to see if the harmonica could play underwater.
It could not. And it never played again.
But I remember my grandfather’s sad shrug of his shoulders. That shrug said, “Well, it was a gift. I meant it as a gift, and what Tommy did with it is his business.”
When God gave to Adam the gift of His breath of life, it was a true gift.
Adam could use his gift however he desired. He, almost alone in history, had the absolute free will. Particularly, he could have chosen to obey and love God… or not.
(Because Adam chose poorly, we no longer have that choice. We choose sin. It is our nature, now. We do not expect a fish to fly into outer space, a bird to make use of credit cards, or a dog to ignore it when the master comes home. Such actions would be against the nature of the creature. While Adam’s created nature allowed him to choose sin or love. Our nature now does not allow us to choose anything but sin.)
Adam misused his gift. But that makes the giving even more amazing. It tends to prove that God means ‘freedom’ when He gives it.
That knowledge is another gift. When the Holy Spirit is transforming our very lives, God is giving us that Adamic choice again, in a way. In Christ, we can choose to love God… acting against our very nature.
Adam’s freedom shows us that God is nothing like a toy-selling Santa Claus. Loving us, He lets us choose to love. Loving us, He lets us try to grow. Loving us, He lets us strive for righteousness. Loving us, he lets us live.
Remember Adam’s poor choice? We can choose better.
Take the faith God grants us.