Walking in Paradise

You've probably heard the joke about the little boy who told his parents excitedly, "I know what God's name is!" After saying this over and over they finally gave in and said, "Okay what is God's name?" The little boy said, "Andy." His parents said, "How do you know that?" He said, "Because of that song we sing in church… Andy he walks with me, Andy talks with me, Andy tells me I am his own."

Bad preacher joke aside, the first example of someone walking with God in the Bible is the first man and the first woman, Adam and Eve. Before they disobeyed God, we infer from the passage today that God walked with them in the garden as He gave them meaningful work to do, performed the first marriage ceremony between Adam and Eve, and intimately knew them. This walking with God was possible because there was no sin. It was completely paradise and perfection in the Garden of Eden.

After Adam and Eve sinned, things dramatically changed. They instinctively hid from God because God is holy and they had disobeyed His one rule. Because of their sin there would be big consequences, not just for them but for the rest of the world. However even in their sin, God went walking in the garden. Isn't that an amazing thought? When we sin, we run and hide from God but God, in his love, pursues us. That's why Jesus said He came to seek and save the lost, to walk among us and find people far from God and give them forgiveness and eternal life.

In Genesis 3:15 God promised to send a Savior, a rescuer, to crush the serpent, Satan. This Savior, the Messiah Jesus, would walk among us, as John 1 says. He would give us the ability to walk with God through redeeming us from sin, rescuing us from death, and regenerating us with brand-new spiritual life. Do you have a real walk with God because of Jesus today?