Wired together
Genesis 2:18-25
It's almost impossible for me to imagine Adam as a solitary creature, alone in the dark night of the cosmos, except for God. I can imagine the stars in the night sky, trees and water glistening with moonlight, and the wind – God's breath – tossing Adam's hair. And God's vast presence…and a sense of incompleteness, longing for a friend.
In one of the most beautiful moments in the creation story, God notices and empathizes with Adam's aloneness. But of course! The cosmos was created because God is love, and love requires an object. And God, who created Adam in God's own image, knows instinctively that Adam, in order to fulfill his calling of imaging God's love, needs to be in relationship.
It's significant that God's solution is not just a woman, but connectedness to every living creature. He creates from the dust all the animals and birds, and invites Adam to participate by naming them. God's desire is that we be experience his longing to be united with every species, all of creation, and recognize the cosmos as good and necessary. Only then does the Creator complete humanity from one flesh, connecting us at the cellular level with people of every tribe, nation and generation.
It is not just emerging generations that are wired for connectivity! Sadly, we have spent long generations forgetting that our actions affect butterflies half a world away. We have subdued species, sometimes to extinction. We have forgotten how to work with the rhythms of nature and pushed to control it with chemicals and bioengineering. We have elevated race and clan to a primary rationale for killing our enemies.
Yet, somewhere deep in our bones, God's cry for connectedness resonates. Lord, help me to let that quiet music sooth the noise of the world!
It's almost impossible for me to imagine Adam as a solitary creature, alone in the dark night of the cosmos, except for God. I can imagine the stars in the night sky, trees and water glistening with moonlight, and the wind – God's breath – tossing Adam's hair. And God's vast presence…and a sense of incompleteness, longing for a friend.
In one of the most beautiful moments in the creation story, God notices and empathizes with Adam's aloneness. But of course! The cosmos was created because God is love, and love requires an object. And God, who created Adam in God's own image, knows instinctively that Adam, in order to fulfill his calling of imaging God's love, needs to be in relationship.
It's significant that God's solution is not just a woman, but connectedness to every living creature. He creates from the dust all the animals and birds, and invites Adam to participate by naming them. God's desire is that we be experience his longing to be united with every species, all of creation, and recognize the cosmos as good and necessary. Only then does the Creator complete humanity from one flesh, connecting us at the cellular level with people of every tribe, nation and generation.
It is not just emerging generations that are wired for connectivity! Sadly, we have spent long generations forgetting that our actions affect butterflies half a world away. We have subdued species, sometimes to extinction. We have forgotten how to work with the rhythms of nature and pushed to control it with chemicals and bioengineering. We have elevated race and clan to a primary rationale for killing our enemies.
Yet, somewhere deep in our bones, God's cry for connectedness resonates. Lord, help me to let that quiet music sooth the noise of the world!
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