I’ve never thought about Adam and Eve as parents before. I’d
always just thought of them in the garden, which I guess is human—we tend to
think of ourselves from the basis of where we came from, our early history—but today
I considered them as parents, and I was in awe of them.
First, they were clueless starting out, even more than we are.
One: they had NEVER EXPERIENCED childhood themselves. They have been in a childLIKE
state (pre-fruit) but not a childHOOD state. They’re clueless. Two: they had
NEVER SEEN a baby before. Most of us have seen other babies and children ever
since we were children. We don’t know at what age God created them initially—teenagers?
They had to have been at least that old. Adults? We usually picture them as
such, maybe late-teen to early-twenty-something. But we don’t really know. All
we do know is, God made them man and woman first, not boy and girl. So when the
first little, squirming human EVER pops out from between Eve’s legs, you can
only imagine the delight and FEAR the First Happy Couple experienced!
But talk about clueless! Talk about not having ANY EARTHLY
IDEA as to how to get this helpless little thing from baby to man. There are no
books for them to read, no expert advice to seek, no high school or college
psychology classes to remember about the developmental stages of the brain—they
don’t even have a father or mother themselves to turn to! They’re it. All they
have is each other and God, and this slimy little mess they’re supposed to
teach the Way of Life. Talk about
learning as you go! I’m sure every day was an adventure, ESPECIALLY without
diapers! I’m guessing Eve learned how to make clothes based on the patterns
from God’s design, but there are only so many animal skins around…. I guess
they just washed them in the river. And no wet wipes! Did they use those big,
waxy leaves? I bet cleaning up blowouts took an unpleasant while…
With the help of God, though, Adam and Eve were clearly
excellent parents. Both Cain and Abel had a relationship with God. Abel’s
offering tells you about his lifestyle of worship, and Cain’s candid
conversation with God—especially, I would say, God’s casual and comfortable
demeanor with Cain, as though the two of them had talked on many different
occasions before—tells you that Adam and Eve raised their sons to have a
relationship with their Maker.
But something went wrong. Despite Adam and Eve’s best attempts,
children are still individuals, still very wholly their own person with their
own personality and character, and Adam and Eve’s children split. Raised under
the same roof—with the exact same foundational values instilled, the same
general history, and the same background—the children parted ways, and the
first dysfunctional family emerged.
In spite of Adam and Eve’s efforts to build the first strong, supportive family unit, tight-knit and loving God, their family housed the first MURDER on earth. Murder—perhaps the most violent sin a man can commit. What happened?
No doubt Adam and Eve both blamed themselves, at least for a
time. If they hadn’t eaten from the tree oh-so-long ago, if they hadn’t caused
themselves to get kicked out of the garden, if they’d just done this or that
differently, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened. The thing is, Cain was a
man. He could make his own decisions. He had come into himself, was his own
person, and HE allowed jealousy to get in the way of loving his brother.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Why did Adam and
Eve have to lose their sweetest child, their youngest, their baby? Why didn’t
God stop Cain from killing Abel?
Why DIDN’T God stop Cain from killing Abel?
The same reason God doesn’t stop people from murdering a
classroom of kindergarteners in a freak school shooting, the same reason God
doesn’t stop drug cartels from operating, the same reason God doesn’t stop
people from robbing homes or lying in court or bribing their way out of
consequences with influential people.
Choices have consequences. Cain’s choices affected his entire family. If God had stopped him, the only lesson Cain would have learned is, “God will keep me from doing bad things.” Well, no. God doesn’t work that way. Talk to Mom & Pop, Cainee. We usually can learn from others’ mistakes if we’ll listen to the message.
God doesn’t stop bad things from happening (or bad people
from happening) because He wants to see how we’ll respond to our own and others’
poor choices. Adam and Eve could have argued among themselves about the issue
and caused an even bigger split in their family. We could have seen the first
divorce in the first couple. But they did right in that they worked through their
issues and trusted in God, continuing to be the good example for their bitter
and angry son. God blessed Adam and Eve with Seth in due time to fill the void
of Abel’s death, at least to some degree. He always rewards the righteous in
His own way.
Abel was lost. This tragic fact remains, and I’m sure Abel’s
death was forever grieved in the hearts of Adam and Eve. I also think the Bible
makes it clear that Abel’s murder was never God’s plan. It wasn’t God’s plan, it was Cain’s mistake. We
all make them. Some of our mistakes have higher costs than others. Cain chose
to dwell in envy rather than love. Those kinds of choices harden our hearts.
Thank God for repentance and forgiveness, which are the only two things in this
world that can keep our heart soft. It reminds me of the last line of a poem I
heard:
“We don’t fall out of love so much as we fall out of
repentance.”
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