Genesis

More on the Will of God

by leekierdorf

God wants you to live in relationships of love. He has done everything to allow you and me to return to a good relationship with him. Sin, guilt? He dealt with it. Conscience? Always evaluating which is better? Throw it away. It will never lead you to goodness. Eternal life is live, in the moment, in contact with the Spirit of God, proving the will of God is good by doing it.

They would bring either/or questions to Jesus. He never chose A or B. Do we pay taxes to Caesar? Yes or no, Jesus? Let’s look at a coin. It came from Ceasar. His name is on it. Give it back to him. But what did God give you? Give that back to him.

Or: Who is my neighbor? Ooh, it sounds so wise. It was more like, how big is my neighborhood? Jesus tells a nearly ridiculous story of kindness to one in need. The hero is a Samaritan! The question Jesus answers is a different one. How does a really good neighbor behave?

Why doesn’t Jesus answer like they want? He goes by life and death not good and evil. He was The Life. He lived in the moment with God. He never went by conscience. He never talked of bad, worse, better, best. He never said, go by your conscience, choose good over evil. No, he said, “Follow me.” Do what I do. He loved to do the will of the Father. The will of God is only one thing at any moment. The world of possible actions is swept away. I came to do the will of God. Did he look sorry or solemn? No, I think he looked joyful.

He created excitement around him. He attracted people. He was a magnet. Sometimes people lost track of the time. His disciples said, “It’s getting late, send the people on their way to find their dinner.” Jesus is caught up in the moment and says, “No, you feed them!” His faith is exuberant. They try to show him practicality. He won’t have it. It’s like water from a rock. Food from heaven time. Tell them to sit down. I ask you this: where is the ‘work by the sweat of your brow’? No, it’s manna time to Jesus. The next thing you know, food is being passed around. Plenty of it. This is Jesus doing the will of God.

The will of God is live in the moment. It is not a thing apart from God. That’s why you can’t separate the will of God from God. You can’t know the will of God as a possibility among possibilities. The will of God is connected to God at all times. It does not live somewhere that we can contain it as knowledge. It is quite different.

Rather than process possibilities, we live by inspiration. Why is Jesus always running afoul of ‘the rules’? Because they were added on later. Do you think God wanted to write some rules on a stone and give it to his people? That was what they wanted. Give us some rules and back off, God. We’ll take it from here.

When Jesus comes, they throw the rules in his face. The Sabbath was made for man not the other way round. Do good to others on the Sabbath. “Your disciples are harvesting, that’s working on the Sabbath.” Here was a day of rest used as a bludgeon. The will of God is not a means to condemn others and justify yourself. Jesus makes the astounding statement, “I judge no man.” Or woman. “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

The will of God comes forth from him for you in real time. You have the Spirit of God. If you don’t, you can. He will not have his will as a possibility among other possibilities for you to evaluate. You can be moved by his Spirit to act. Or you can decide for yourself what to do. Those are our choices.

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Who did it?

by leekierdorf

Looking at creation, it is sensible to believe that a powerful, wise Being is behind it. But when one launches into describing that Being, they immediately fall short.

Why is this so? Because seeing what someone has done only tells what they can do and not who they are.

A designer of a beautiful building may turn out to be a poet. You ask how they designed the building and they wants to read you a poem.

Appreciating creation reveals more about the observer. That they have a sense of beauty and admire things well done.

How so? God created man in his image and likeness. They can recognize that One is powerful and able to create such a universe.

But they must rely on God to reveal more of Himself as He pleases.

Thanks be, He did.

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Before the Beginning

by leekierdorf

Jesus reveals his heart as he prays with the disciples present. He says to the Father, “You have loved them, as you have loved me.” We know that the Father loves the Son very much.

He says, a bit later, to his Father, “You loved me before the foundation of the world.”

Although the first verse in Genesis says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” Jesus reveals that before that, He was the Father who loved His Son.

He is first a loving Father before He is a creator. He is not The Prime Mover or The First Cause as the ancient Greeks said. He is the Father who loved his Son and now loves us with that same love.

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Adam and Dog meet Eve

by leekierdorf

Adam I wish you could talk,Dog.
  I rename you, Friend of Man.
  Want to go for a walk?
Dog Arf
Adam Look there, a new fruit. Mmm. Want some?
  No good, huh?
  I am feeling really tired…

Waking up later.

Adam That was a crazy dream.

The Lord comes towards him with Eve.

Adam This is right out of my dream.
  I call you Woman because you were taken from me. Flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone…
Dog Arf (bone?)
Eve I heard about you.
Adam What?
Eve You like to name things
Adam I’ve named a few animals. This is Dog. Dog meet Woman.
Dog Sniff sniff
Eve What about Dog?
Adam He sleeps by the fire.
Eve What’s fire?
Adam Well, it’s just an idea now. It’s going to be hot. Tell me about your day?
Eve So far, came to be. Then, came here. Can you believe the Lord showing me off?
Adam Where did he go?
Eve He told me some stuff
Adam Like, what?
Eve That I would meet you.
Adam Me?
Eve And some other stuff.
Adam What?
Eve There are two special trees.
Adam Come this way.
Eve Okay. Does Dog always go with you?
Adam Lately. He is a faithful friend.
Eve What about me?
Adam You are… Wife!
Eve What about those trees?
Adam See this one? It’s the Tree of Life.
Eve Beautiful.
Adam Now that one is the Tree of Knowing Good and Evil.
Eve What a long name…
Adam I know. If you eat it, you get to know good and evil.
Eve Should we eat it? What do the other trees do for you?
Adam No, we should not eat from it! If you do, you will die.
Eve What’s “die?”
Adam Let me show you.

They walk a bit.

Adam Here it is. Look.

A bird lies dead on the ground.

Eve What’s wrong with it?
Adam It’s dead.
Eve No flying? No singing?
Adam No. Dead. Doesn’t move.
Eve Sad. I don’t want to die.
Adam Then, we don’t eat from that tree.
Eve What about the others? What do they do for you?
Adam The fruit is different on different trees. They don’t have special names.
Eve What about this one?
Adam Try it.
Eve It crunches, it’s yellow.  And this one with the red ones?
Another crunchy one.
Adam Those seem to be the same kind.
Eve Apples!
Adam What?
Eve Yellow apples and red apples.
Adam Who said you could name things?
Eve Did you name them?
Adam No, I just eat them.
Eve You’re eating apples.
Adam Okay, apples it is.
Check out these little purple ones.
Eve Mmm. Sweet. They’re in bunches. (Eats another.) Grapes!
Adam Stop doing that!
Eve Why? Are you going to say to me: Go gather some little purple, not quite round ones that grow in bunches on vines?
Adam Vines?
Eve Yeah, vines, different than trees.
Adam Okay, apples, grapes, vines. Take it easy.
  No more naming for today.
Eve What about the ones up high on that tree?
Adam They will drop down.
Eve I don’t see any.
Adam Something eats them, not dogs.
Eve Much to learn.
Adam Let’s go down by the river.
Eve River?
Adam There should be some animals drinking water.
  Did you bring your bathing suit? We can swim.
Eve Bathing suit?
Adam Just kidding. Fish live in the river, too.
Eve Fish?

Interviewing Eve

by leekierdorf

I Adam said you answer questions.

E Try me.

I Why did you eat the fruit?

E Next question.

I Okay, did you have daughters?

E Of course.

I What was one of their names?

E Shorty. That’s what we called her, a nickname, I suppose. She was not tall.

I Where did you sleep?

E At first, under a bush, near the river. Later, we tried a cave. It had good and bad points.

I Like what?

E It could get cold. Adam got sheep skins. That was a lot of work. I sewed four together. The spiders liked to surprise us.

I Did you block the entry?

E We tried many rocks with one big one for a door. It was too heavy for me to move. Adam would push it at night to close it up.

I I heard the spider liked it.

E I don’t know why. Because we let the dog in? He was jealous? I gave him a good talking to. Then it indicated it was a female.

I Did that matter?

E To her, I guess.

I Okay, another subject, Naming. Did Adam name everything?

E Not really. Just the animals. I named the fruit. Apples, grapes, oranges, and the nuts, pecans, pecans, Brazil nuts.

I Brazil nuts?

E Got you on that one!

I You have a sense of humor.

E You have to, so much sadness. Adam would come in from the field and say, “Just look at my brow!” “Very wet,” I would say. “Want a leaf?” He would say, “I’m too tired to go down to the river, right now. I’ll just sit in our cool cave a while.”

I Very interesting. What about him blaming you?

E Oh, that was a cheap shot. “She gave it to me.” Man up.

I You blamed the serpent.

E Who was left? I guess I was not really beguiled by it. I do hate snakes, though. Always have.

I Did you ever get over it?

E We finally agreed to drop the subject. Adam agreed and we never mentioned it again.

I What did you tell your children?

E That is your best question so far. That was a thing. Do we tell them how we messed it all up? We did warn them about the way to the old garden with the fiery sword. I think Cain went to see it. We told them how God created us but glossed over our mistake. Cain asked why we couldn’t go to the Garden. That was a tough one. Adam said loudly, “Because we just can’t!” Another question: “Where is God?” They didn’t see him. I heard Cain talked to him but not what that was about. Cain was a poser. Hard worker. But very jealous of his younger brother. So jealous! You could see it in his face. Were we to blame? We just liked Abel better. We admired Cain a lot. He worked so hard. I think we were prone to mistakes because of, you know…

I That is so much information. no more hard questions. What was your favorite fruit?

E Again with the fruit!

I Sorry. Was Adam adventurous?

E Yes, at first. He climbed a tree to see how far the garden went. When he told me, I said “What if you fell?” Do you know what he said? “Angels. Angels would catch me.”

I Did you see angels?

E That was just it. We never saw angels until after…

I He believed angels were all around you.

E And they kept us safe. He had an idea to float down the river on a broken tree. He talked himself out of that one.

I How?

E He said, “I would have to walk back a long way.” He didn’t want to do that.

I Well, we are out of time. Thank you so much.

E No. Thank you.

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Meeting Death

by leekierdorf

“Who are you?”

“Death”

“Where am I?”

“It’s not really where you are. It’s where you’re not”

“Where am I not?”

“On earth”

“What happened?”

“You tell me”

“I had a name. It was, I mean, it is, uh, Abe, no, Abel. I had a family, a mother, a father, a brother… We were out in a field…. My brother was going to show me something. Cain, Cain was his name. Then I was here.”

“He is there – You are here – He killed you”

“No, he wouldn’t do that.”

“He did”

“Was it an accident?”

“No”

“Wait”

“I am good at waiting – Do you want to sit down? I have a bench It’s right here”

“This makes it better, somehow. The white bones and the black robe…”

“I wanted something that said ‘Death'”

“And the hollow echo-like tone…”

“That is a choice”

“Is there anyone else here?”

“No, just you and me”

“What do you do?”

“I am in charge of death orientation – I answer questions – as I can”

“Is it boring?”

“We don’t think like that”

“Who are ‘we’?”

“Eternal beings – Did you ever go see the Garden?”

“We couldn’t. There was a guard. And a flaming sword. I wanted to go see but they wouldn’t let me. Cain said he went but I don’t think he really did.”

“I am going to appoint you as Deputy of Orientation”

“Really? What do I do?”

“You sit on this bench until someone dies”

“Wow. When do you think that will be? Wait, there is no time here…”

“That’s it… You’re getting it – Deputy”

Interviewing Adam

by leekierdorf
Me: We have Adam in the studio. The Adam. Adam: That’s right, Adam, The Adam. That’s me. Me: This is so cool. I have some questions! Adam: Yeah, sorry, I don’t do questions anymore. Me: Why not? Adam: Well, people didn’t like the answers for one thing. And, I mean, that was a real long time ago. Me: But I read your story many times. Adam: You know who hasn’t read it? Me. I never learned to read. I mean, someone read it to me. Me: How is it you speak perfect English? Adam: Am I? I know all the languages, except the Click one. I do get Spanish, and Portuguese mixed up sometimes. Listen, I’m working on a stand-up routine. Can I try a couple on you? Me: Sure, I guess so. Adam: Okay. Someone told me Neal Armstrong was the first man on the moon. I wasn’t impressed. (pause) I was the first man on earth! What? Nothing? Look, I’m not gonna start with that one. Eve said to me, “Are you seeing other women?” “I said, “No. There are no other women!” Do you even have a sense of humor? I can’t bomb again, like last time. Job has this club and he’s giving me another chance. He’s so patient, you know. Okay, try this one. Do you know the retirement age back then? It was 600. But I was ready. I invented the hammock, you know. It wasn’t easy. First, you have to plant two trees just the right distance apart. Then you have to wait 100 years… Me: That was a good one. Adam: So Eve says, Why don’t you pick some fruit for dinner? I said, Isn’t that your department? She said, Don’t start that again! I’ll gather some nuts, okay? She said, That sounds about right for you. Me: Really? Did that happen? Adam: No. We agreed to not talk about the past. I mean, why keep blaming each other? One more. Able said to Eve, I understand that I came from you, Mom, but where did you come from? She looks at me and says, Do you want to take that one, honey?   Look, I’m in a good mood. I’ll do one question. Me: Where did you sleep? Adam: Where did we sleep? That’s your question? At first, we slept on the ground. (pause) Near the river. You know, you should ask Eve your questions. I think she still answers questions. She’s around somewhere. Me: You aren’t together? Adam: Nobody is together! There’s no marriage here. Me: Oh, yeah. Adam: Just look for the best looking woman. Wait, I can use that. The best looking woman on earth. Come to Job’s Place. It’s right near the South Middle Gate. Me: Is there a cover charge? Adam: Cover charge? There’s no money! Did you skip Orientation? What about this? Eve says to me, The cave is chilly at night. (This was later on.) I said, What about the blanket? Eve says, Four sheepskins. And who sewed it? Why can’t you just invent indoor heat. I said, I’m working on it. What about my other inventions? The plow? The door? The potty? She said, You mean the Big Crooked Stick, The Heavy Rock and The Hole Too Far Away at Night? I said, Well, I’m more of a Namer than an Inventor, really. She said, Oh, yeah, like Wiggle-nose, Eight-legs and Long-neck. I said, Those are very descriptive names. She said, And, by the way, Eight-legs is still getting into the cave. I said, I’m working on that. Okay. now you’re laughing! Me: That is funny stuff. Adam: Catch me at Job’s Place. It’s mostly singing acts, a juggler, a plate spinner… I really don’t get that one. Right near the South Middle Gate. The pearl one. Wait, they’re all pearl. South Middle. Bye. (I have to tell Able this one, Where did you sleep?)

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First Fears

by leekierdorf

In the beginning, Adam and Eve had no fear at all. But fear became part of the human experience. Just what fears entered their lives?

Their first fear came with their discovery of their naked condition but just what were they afraid of? It doesn’t appear to be danger of being injured. It rather seems to be acute awareness of their vulnerability to the general environment. It says “their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked”. The intense feeling of being naked motivates them to make coverings of leaves.

As they anticipate the arrival of the Lord, they run and hide. This is an act of pure fear. They stop running as reason comes back but let Adam explain, “…I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.” Adam speaks as if they had no handmade coverings. He needed a lot more leaves between him and God. Adam speaks as a man who feels alone in the world.

We can be sure of this: they did not want to be seen as naked. Adam becomes silent as the reason for his fear is examined. Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the snake and both imply God is somewhat responsible by giving out wives and creating sneaky creatures that bother innocent people.

The source of their fear is separateness. Adam is now separated from God, his wife, his environment. He is even divided within himself, he feels blame but tries to cast it off himself without success. With this separateness will come sorrow for both the woman and man.

We turn to the first man born: Cain. He discovers a new fear. Cain remakes himself into a heartless murderer. Cain has discovered killing is rather easy and now he fears retribution.

Eve indicates her fear of having no one to lead the family after losing Abel. She and Adam find hope in their new offspring, Seth.

The next fear is fear of drowning. At first, no one but Noah and family take this seriously. They build a boat for the purpose of surviving an enormous flood. When the flood waters eventually start to rise, the people find their fear will not enable them to find any way to save themselves. There is no time left now.

We learn about another fear from Noah. It is a fear of disrespecting order. The patriarchal family of Noah and his sons is now the foundation for a new society. This is endangered by one son who shows disrespect for his father. Noah recognizes the danger of this and deals with it before it can topple the fresh start.

The Lord does not want men to be full of fear. His remedy for fear is trust in God. He cares even about the small birds and will surely care for those who trust in him.

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Glory

by leekierdorf

We look among the faded tatters for glory. But why does the true glory escape us?

We know a human life could be glorious yet why do we always discover a fatal flaw? So we idealize. We build pedestals and place something high. But we know it is our imagination.

Why the idol? Why this statue? We demand meaning! But we know we are making it up. We read and hope to find meaning. We listen. We look. We are always ready to stick a stake in the ground and say, “Here is meaning.” But it is only a grave marker. Read this poem. Listen to that song. Hear this orator speak. Consider this artwork. Look at that building with its majestic lines. That bridge is so much more.

In the museum, look, there is David. And what moved the sculptor to trace the beauty of the female shape in such detail?

All shadows. All former glory. All that is left are hints. Indications. We gaze at the ruins of humanity and imagine its greatness. Yet, we can’t look too close or we see how it is not what it was or what it could be.

Isn’t that where we look best? Former greatness. The ruins of a civilization. As we look closer, we find human sacrifice. We find falseness. The golden statue is a thin shell full of sawdust. The soaring tower was used to hold men captive. The cellar is filled with bones and rags.

The throne is dusty. The former greatness is gone. The halls are empty. The paintings faded. The glory is gone.

What happened to us? Why are we disappointed as we examine things closely? And the disappointment sinks slowly into despair.

The canvas of human history has been painted on over and over. This time we will get it right. We will promote goodness. We will learn from past mistakes. But something trips us up once again.

What is that which keeps us from glory? We desire to see it. To feel it. We know it is there, just beyond our grasp.

And we are right. The glory of man is our destiny. But we are in our own way. The ego opposes the conscience. Yes, it is the outsized ‘me’ that is in opposition to the ‘you’ that desires glory. We can’t grasp glory because to touch it is to foul it beyond recognition.

And for this very reason, our glory, which we are meant to have, has been moved. Our hands must be washed before we can handle our glory. Our glorification awaits us. Maybe it can’t be found here. Can we follow the traces? Can we find the beginning by starting at our end. Will knowing the beginning help us?

The European watched the Nile flow into the ocean. He wondered where the magnificent river began its journey to this sea. He enlisted others in the search. Yet, each try ended in failure. One man succeeded. He wasn’t even trying. He began at a lake unknown by the Europeans. He started at the source.

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

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Enoch – God Finds a Friend

by leekierdorf

Adam was the first man. Enoch came a few generations later. Enoch has a very short biography. He seems rather ordinary until he has a son. We can put his whole story right here:

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 

After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 

Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

This is a short biography. And each line is important.

 His son is Methuselah. Maybe you heard of him. “As old as Methuselah.” But when Methuselah is born, things change for Enoch. This event was when Enoch became God’s first friend. Enoch walked with God. He continued to do this for 300 years. It becomes the characteristic of his life. 

Enoch is the first man who had a good, continuous relationship with God. After 300 years, Enoch disappears. He’s gone. He didn’t die. God took him. God liked this guy.

Why are we given no details? This is a personal relationship between God and Enoch. And God is interested in the individual. There are no groups with God. He is well able to focus on each person. 

Enoch has no good example to follow. He cannot say, “I will be like …” Enoch is not given a great decision like Adam. He is not given a great task like Noah, his grandson. He lives an ordinary life but does so in an extraordinary way. He walks with God. No one instructs him. No one shows him how to do this. He blazes a new path in the world very quietly. His story is often overlooked because it contains no dramatic events until the end.

No one has made a movie about Enoch. He does not leave a method behind. His example tells us that we must find our own relationship with God. What is remarkable is that Enoch walks with God for 300 years. And what began with an ordinary event, the birth of a son, ends with this dramatic event: he disappears. He has no grave. No one witnesses his final moment on earth. No one sees him go. But God takes him none the less.

Enoch is not an old man by contemporary standards. God decides to end his earthly time early. He wants his friend closer to him. In this, God shows his approval of Enoch’s life. Enoch walked with God and ‘he was not’ for God took him.

    Enoch is an example of faith. It says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

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