 |
| Photo by: wiangya |
J. M. Barrie wrote the book, Peter Pan. His title character Peter Pan said, “If growing up means it would be
beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I’ll never grow up, never grow up, never
grow up! Not me!” And so, the forever-child Peter Pan goes flying around with
human children on many adventures.
J. M. Barrie was correct when he wrote, “All children,
except one, grew up.”
That one was Adam.
He was the only human in history to be “born” a man, fully mature.
When Adam was
created, from that first day of life, he was already:
- Mature
- Working
- Married, and
- Responsible.
He was a mature adult, fully functioning in the Garden of
Eden.
Soon, he became the father of Cain and Abel. When he was
130 years old, he fathered a third son, Seth. He lived 800 years more. When
Adam died, he was 930 years old.
The oldest man in
history was Methuselah. He lived to the ripe old age of 969! (Would Adam
have equaled Methuselah in years, had he needed to grow up? It’s possible!)
Eve, likewise, was created fully mature, and she became the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20).
On the first day
of their lives, Adam and Eve were married. They were a couple, the model
pair for every marriage after them. They were married for life. Can you imagine
930 years with the same man? Oh yes, pre-flood, everyone lived a very long time, so it
wouldn’t have been so strange. But, to us today, the thought of living almost a
thousand years boggles the mind!
I admit I like the
idea of never having to grow up. I would love to be like Peter Pan and be
forever young. It would be great to be ageless.
I’m also
challenged by Adam and Eve’s long lives and how they carried out their
responsibilities. God gave them two huge tasks:
- Populate the world. (Genesis 1:28)
- Oversee the world. (Genesis 1:28)
As far as we know, they did both very well, even
though they disobeyed God’s one prohibition. (See my post about the first sin
here.)
I wonder how
responsible God finds us in the tasks He has for us to do? Can He depend on
us?
Curiously enough, Jesus also gave us a two-point mandate:
Curiously enough, Jesus also gave us a two-point mandate:
- Love God. And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment (Mark 12:29-30).
- Love people. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:31).
I love the thoughts about growing up! I never really thought about that the fact that Adam and Eve never really had a childhood, and how strange it must have been for them to relate in the beginning to their children. Imagine never being able to tell your children, When I was a kid... :) How wonderful though to have spent their lives in the presence of God, and see how everything began...
ReplyDeleteP.S. Don't grow up! <3
Thank you, Susan! Yes, what a good point: "When I was your age . . . " never happened. I never plan to grow up. Unfortunately, I am growing older--but it has its benefits, as well. God bless you!
DeleteThanks for this intriguing post. Just the other day, I was thinking about Adam and wondering about his "true" age. I'm like you, I was thinking about his age of 930 years and considering how many years should be added to that to fully account for his age if you add the years of a fully mature man. Perhaps he was created to be a 21 year old man -- who knows, but it's intriguing to consider. I think we'll have lots of interesting questions to ask these early human brethren when we get to heaven (:
ReplyDeleteThankfully, when we get to heaven, we'll have eternity in which to ask all our questions--if indeed they're still important! Thank you, Sandra, for your comment.
Delete