There are two times recorded in the Bible where God walked among us, and spent large amounts of time on a daily basis interacting with humans. The first time is in Genesis, where we see God walking with Adam and Eve on a daily basis. It is the beginning of mankind as we know it, and modern science has revealed to us why it was necessary for God to spend this amount of time with Adam and Eve.
When you make a human being, you do not have a complete human yet. Biologically, you have an animal, but to take it to the next level and get a human being, there are years of work still left to be done. And God did this in the beginning. He literally raised Adam and Eve, and downloaded (if you will allow the computer metaphor) the required information into their brains that finished the work of creation.
He was literally a father to them, in that he raised them and taught them how to think, speak, etc. God jumpstarted humanity in the Garden. He designed the system to be self-replicating, but the original content of “Humanity”, in the image of God, came directly from Him. He put it in Adam and Eve, the first humans, and then they in turn passed the information on down through the generations.
When a human baby is left in the wilderness and grows up without human contact, eventually that person is never able to learn language or to be a civilized/socialized human. We know this, because a few of them have been found. (You can check this out on the internet if you are interested in learning more about it.)
Science has shown us that the human brain continues to develop as late as our early 20’s usually, and that if the neural pathways are not formed during this period, especially ages 0-5, they never form, and the brain is not normal, not as human, more like an animal. In order for these pathways to form, interaction with other humans is required so that the information that God put into Adam and Eve can be downloaded into the new human. In the process of downloading this information, our brains build the neural network that allows us to speak, think, reason, imagine, etc. It is what distinguishes us from the animals. It is the image of God, that He put there in the Garden.
We read about God’s word being in all of us, and it turns out, it literally is. It has been passed down to us all the way from the original two humans, Adam and Eve, through socialization as discussed above, and also genetically (it turns out that some information is actually passed down biologically somehow, but we do not fully understand it yet – if you want to discuss this further, please give me a call – too long to go into this here). But there was another thing that happened in the Garden that has been passed down to us.
We often hear or talk about a “God shaped hole” that is in all of us. We try to fill it with all kinds of things to no avail. But only God can fill this hole. Where did this hole come from? It came from Adam and Eve. They walked with God. The God shaped hole that is in us all, came from our original parents literally walking with God on a daily basis.
We were meant to be with God every day, and once we were removed from the Garden, we have had this empty place in our lives that we try to fill with all kinds of things, but only God can fill this hole in our being. Just as we inherited the sin nature and our humanity from Adam and Eve, we also inherited our God shaped hole from them.
So humanity tools along for centuries, and then in the fullness of time, God shows up again, in the form of Jesus. God is among us again on a daily basis, and the world is never the same. Think of it as a software upgrade. Jesus downloaded new information into humanity, and it has spread the world over. His life impacted every aspect of human society and civilization.
There is a great book by John Ortberg about this if you are interested in learning more (Who is this Man?). In addition to the software upgrade we received, we also received something else. That God shaped hole can finally be filled again. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit showed up, and filled the hole in the lives of the first Christians. And He has been filling the hole in Christians lives ever since. Amazing.
Are you walking with God today? Have you let the Holy Spirit fill the God shaped hole in your life yet? If not, what is holding you back? What are you putting in that hole that is not working out? Are you ready to live life the way you were designed by God to live?
Turn to God today, and walk with him in newness of life. Let Him fill that hole in your life today, and you will walk with God as Adam and Eve did. And when you are tempted to put something else there, remember that God is your life, not that thing or that person.
Be Blessed,
Ed Levy
Life in the Spirit 