The first bite
The origin story of Hebrew Scripture, which takes place in the garden of Eden, is a poem that describes the inner landscape of every human heart.
We are made pure (or “Very good,” as Scripture says). And we are also made to have a relationship with God. This is what makes us whole. We need something from outside of ourselves to call us into communion and back to our original blessing.
Original sin was not the first thing. Sin is a thought that snuck in later in the story. Though it was our original error, it was not the first thing that was true about us. The first thing was blessedness. Sin happened when we forgot. When we got distracted by the serpent who initiated a relationship that gave us a false version of ourselves and broke our trust in God by whispering the lie: You don’t need relationship with God. You can be self-sufficient. You can find wholeness in yourself and yourself alone.
Of course, we can never fill the God-shaped void within us. We can throw all the idols that money can buy into it, and the abyss will still remain. Our idols ask the world of us in order to obtain them. They promise to fulfill our desires, but as soon as we get them, we are left empty and wanting more.
None of them can give us our belovedness. And our belovedness cannot be heard in the vast echo chamber of our own soul. Only God can give us our belovedness. It is only God who stands outside of us (as the potter stands outside of the clay) while not taking up space and competing with us.
It is only God,
the divine tuning fork,
who chimes that eternal melody of unconditional love -
the resonance of which,
when it hits our hearts,
puts us back together again
back in trusting relationship
and back in the cool of the garden
walking with our creator.
Yes, I see the reasoning. My sense is that free will is crucial, otherwise our devotion to God is not voluntary, and without choice it’s not a relationship. Thus, free will can expose us to sin, to that devil always whispering in our ear. I think it was the Catholic Bishop Barron who, when asked why we don’t experience evidence of God speaking to us today, said, “But we do. He speaks to us through our conscience. That voice guiding us to do the right thing.” Thanks again, Jonas, I appreciate the theological guidance.
I guess the distinction here is that we may have been originally made pure, very good, and blessed, but these qualities did not insure good judgement. Perhaps it’s our free will that opened the door to listening to the snake’s lies and taking that first bite of the apple? Thanks Jonas, much to ponder here.