Thursday, February 9, 2012

Why We Suffer Part 3

                “Why will people know how to exercise free will in heaven if they can’t know how to exercise it on earth?” page 12-13 in God’s Problem.  The other day driving in the pickup this question rattled around in my head.  So many amazing thoughts started flowing.  My driving became distracted.  I turned down a main road headed to my house instead of going straight to pick up the groceries on my list.  I refocused on the task at hand, wandered through a neighborhood, found my way back to the correct street, headed to the store, and lost all my wonderful ideas for this post.  Hum, maybe next time I will pull over to jot down my thoughts.  Of course this may result in never getting to my destinations.  Now I look at the question and wonder where to begin.  At the beginning, the best place to start when a bit lost.
                In the beginning, God created a paradise on Earth in the Garden of Eden.  The notes in my Bible state, “Eden is near the head of the Persian Gulf, where the Tigris and the Euphrates join with two other streams to form a single river.”  In my travels in our local area, Hawaii, Mexico, the United States, and the Caribbean, I can’t help but think Eden covered the entire planet.  Man has turned many areas of our world ugly, but many areas remain pristine.  Humans have also made many gorgeous things to enhance God’s creation.  In the mornings, I will go out to start my vehicle only to be greeted by God’s masterpiece in the sky as the sun begins to rise.  I can’t imagine Adam and Eve having it much better in Eden when it comes to the physical beauty of the land around them.  I really believe we still live in Eden. 
Our freewill got us into trouble in Eden.  It continues to get us into trouble here on Earth.  Before the fall, Adam and Eve’s world allowed them to talk directly to God, walk in the garden with Him, and enjoy His visual presence.  He gave them freedom to explore the beauty made just for them.  They played with all the animals.  The grace of Himself God gave them filled them abundantly, but because they weren’t yet in heaven, they weren’t filled one hundred percent.  They lived in harmony with the world.  When they chose to take a bite of the forbidden fruit a vale went up between them and God.  This invisible barrier caused them to lose grace with God.  The harmony disappeared with God, animals, and the environment.  This one act of freewill caused suffering to enter the world causing our freewill to become diseased. 
Once we reach heaven, the grace of God we receive will be even more then what Adam and Eve contained in Eden before the vale descended.  This grace will heal our freewill.  The harmony we obtain with God and all of creation will open our sight to a new and glorious understanding that frankly we lack or even have a slight comprehension of in this existence.  To think, in heaven, I will be able to have my thoughts about a writing topic and still be able to drive to the store without turning the wrong direction.  Actually, I will never be distracted from God again which will eliminate my suffering.  Our freewill will sink up with God.  Until that time, I plan to look on our planet as paradise, talk and walk with God keeping my freewill as healthy as possible. 
Blessing to you all.

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