Wednesday 12 September 2012

Paradise Lost


Once, when the world was young, we walked with God; we were simple people unsullied by ambition and desire, and the hatreds that burn up the world today.  Was it all that long ago we walked innocent and free, and lived just for the smell of fresh air and the green of the grass and the trees and the simple pleasures that gave us the most happiness?

 

I was a simple boy from a simple family; no ambitions, no desires, no anger within me.  What happened to that boy who lived long ago, what happened to his dreams if he had any that is?  God came to me in my innocence, in my poverty, in my youth and answered the prayers of my heart; then I knew He existed, something existed beyond humanity and base human nature, something that would give everything meaning, a being who meant what He said and could do even more.

 

Did I lose Paradise when I lost myself?  Did Adam lose Paradise when he became ambitious, when he became filled with desires of all kinds, when he stopped putting God first?  Then men became sophisticated and civilised and urbane and cultured; then we all started hating each other, putting each other in class systems and judging each other differently because of the colour of our skin, or the way we talked or the company we kept.  In becoming sophisticated and civilised, we left God behind or confined Him to churches one day a week, safely anaesthetised where He couldn’t challenge us or check our greed and stupidity and selfishness.

 

All those years ago, a poor city boy lived, amongst other poor people long forgotten now, simple people, people who in the great scheme of things didn’t really count, were not important, had no great dreams or ambitions to take on the world or take over the world, just content to be.  At the dawn of time, Adam had the same simplicity, the same peace and contentment, but he gave it all up and made the wrong choice.

 

If Paradise is lost, can it ever be found again?  Does God want us to live in all simplicity, childlike faith, a faith that moves mountains but that brings us what we all really want, and what we certainly need, a peace of mind that stills the troubled waters of our busy and bustling lives?  Adam lost that vital relationship he had with God, and forever since all humans have lost it with Him; we have all been punished for our original ancestor’s sin.  What is God’s answer?  If we listen, can we hear it on the breeze?  If we look can we see it in the sky in the formation of the clouds?  If we ask for peace and simplicity, will God give us our heart’s desire?

 

In abandoning God, we have abandoned ourselves to the four winds, to fate, to chance, to the stars; we have lost our senses, and swapped what is good and life itself, for a half-life, a shadow, something which is a sham and doesn’t hold water and only leads us down false paths.  In our affluence, we have abandoned God; where will we find Him again?

 

God calls us, softly and sweetly; can you not hear?  God beckons us; can you not see Him?  God is waiting, has always been waiting, for us to return, to return to our senses and to Him.  Every one of us is a child of His, a spoilt and petulant child.

 
When God called me, I listened.  I’m still listening.  I lost everything before I really knew what I had, and stumbled in the wilderness of my own ignorance and stupidity.  What was God trying to tell me all those years; I really don’t know.  I lost Paradise; the gates were closed for me.  Now they are slowly opening again, after what seems like a thousand lifetimes; I want to reacquaint myself with God, but He knows me inside out.  I cry out in the night; I shout for God, and He hears me…

14 comments:

  1. This is a beautiful post. There have been times when I felt distant from God. Looking back, in my case it happened because I allowed myself to be distracted with other things. I had believed the lie that I could juggle God and the world and that's simply not possible.

    What I have learned, and am still learning, is that God is the most patient teacher. He is so wise and gentle in dealing with us. He remembers that we are dust.

    And because of what Jesus did, whenever God looks at us He sees His son. It is a love that none of us deserve but it is a gift given to us by Jesus. And Jesus was sent by God.

    An epic love story. That is what the Bible truly is to me. It tells me about a God whose love knows no bounds. And ultimately, that is what every human being craves from the moment they leave the womb... to be loved.

    Blessings to you.

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    1. You wrote: 'There have been times when I felt distant from God. Looking back, in my case it happened because I allowed myself to be distracted with other things.' Yes, we can all get caught up in worldly things; I certainly was and for a long time too. I learnt the hard way partly because I don't come from a Christian family or background; I had no one else to teach me but God, and through reading the Bible. I'm a different person now and I know that I will always just try to serve the Lord with a whole heart.

      The Bible is an epic love story, God's epic love story for mankind and mankind's always half-hearted love for Him!

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  2. Hi Tim,
    yes this is a lovely post. If everybody realized that in order to gain what was lost to us we simply have to become as a child, not leaning on our own understanding and trying to gain peace and happiness by reaching out for things that we believe will make us happy. We can miss the simplicity in Christ. There are people with masses of material wealth that have no peace, it is not the place that we will find it. There are people that have position and enjoy titles, we only have to read 'can anything good come out of Nazareth?' to know who really may hold 'position' as far as God is concerned.'but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.' God will never be confined to a building, He can be found in Jesus alone wherever that may be, and 'where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of them.'

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    1. Yes, we seem often to miss Jesus' simplicity. Religion can be one thing, a simple relationship with Jesus in my humble experience is something else completely. It seems that God does pick the least of people to serve His cause, often because 'important' people can be so wrapped up in themselves that they think nothing else matters. Those who have grown up with any social status or grown up in poverty or reduced circumstances I think can more readily understand Jesus' simple but utterly profound and life-changing and life-enhancing message. Of course, God can call anyone to serve Him after all, be they rich or poor, important or not, and we should never stand in the way of His choices.

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  3. This is a wonderful post. I could especially relate to the last paragraph and this line, "I lost everything before I really knew what I had." I felt that way too, made me sad,I felt I had gone so far off course. I am so glad for God's grace and mercy. We are called to love His mercy and I love it.

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    1. Everyone's been very kind about my post, so I thank everyone for that; thankyou! In reply, I have learnt so much from all the people who have commented here, so thankyou again!

      Sometimes, perhaps God lets us wander off the path to let us know what life is like without Him and His overarching influence. Many prophets spent time in the wilderness, and sometimes even that might be a sort of learning curve, knowing what the world is like so that we can in effect reject it for God. Life it seems is a balance, a balance between over-doing it and doing it just right, and a balance between many things, things that only God can put in perspective.

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  4. I fully agree with the other commentators above, this is a beautiful post. Yes we are but dust and ashes. But how wonderful it is for God the Son to die for the likes of us, and to impute in us the righteousnes of Christ which I believe is greater and more perfect than Adam's innocence.
    As you wrote: culture, the class system, social status, wealth, education and such does not restore anyone to the innocence Adam enjoyed, but with the eyes of Christ I can appreciate and enjoy the wealth of beauty of creation so abundant on this planet.

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    1. Well thankyou Frank; I sort of wrote this piece 'off the cuff' so to speak rather than planning it. It truly is nice to be able to write something that is appreciated. Likewise, I am astounded at the quality of writing from all the blogs I frequent; I understand that the difference between being published and not can sometimes be who you know rather than what you know.

      Yes, the righteousness of Christ certainly outstrips any other thing that a human can contribute.

      Not having much in the way of social status, I agree with you completely. Society sees the superficial things, like a well-spoken accent, or someone who is related to this person or that person, or who is well-educated and so on. God I believe sees our hearts and whether they are tuned to Him, rather than less important things. The world is always opposed to God's mercy and simplicity, because God speaks the truth, whereas the world hides behind carefully composed layers of untruth and double-standards and even cosy falsehoods.

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  5. A very good post and relatable. Appreciate your visit to my blog and your honest comment. Blessings.

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    1. It's a delight to visit many other blogs; people are so different and we can learn so much from each other.

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  6. please check out my blog at: catcare11.blogspot.com

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  7. The key is self-awareness, and being able to take the piss out of oneself.

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  8. 'The key is self-awareness, and being able to take the piss out of oneself.' Ah, now I KNEW there was something missing from my post!! As ever Daz, your comments are most welcome; you can say with one word what some people have to say with hundreds...

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