Adam And Eve And The Garden

MON., AUG. 9, 1982, 6:15 AM
PAUL’S ROOM, HONOLULU

The sermon yesterday morning in that well-remembered sanctuary was on this theme, so your attention has been centered on this first earthly story. So hear some more meaning, o son, that you might have a better understanding of My working in the world. The benediction asked that I be present in the lives of all those there. But you may be the only one listening in this direct a way, as I am in the lives of those who want Me and who have the spiritual maturity to discern Me and accept Me.

The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden is a true spiritual story. Don’t bother yourself with details about where, when, or were there other people already “outside”. Accept the story as one of relationship between Me and thee, for that is essentially what the Holy Bible is (as Lex Miller told you years ago). Remember also My premise that because one story of a relationship is true all other stories, told differently, of the same circumstances are not untrue. Unscrambled and more directly said, this means that other ways of telling the story may also be true. Let Me try one on you.

I created the earth as a realm of being that would test spiritual development and encourage spiritual growth in a special way. As it is first portrayed the Garden was not different enough from other realms. The man and the woman had earth forms, but they still were essentially obedient spirits. They gave no attention to their bodies. They lived as spirits in complete obedience to Me, without any thoughtful alternative.

There is a merit to this life relationship, but I have other realms in which this is the mode. The earth was to be different. (I have told you a bit about devas; some of them have never incarnated in the earth, and they serve Me mightily and fully, without rebellion or protest. I just do not want all spirits to be of this nature.) From the earth could come spirits who have rejected Me, tried other ways of living, and then come back to Me with a maturity built by experience.

The human family analogy is an apt one. Some children grow up, constantly and consistently obedient to their parents, doing only what their parents desire. In extreme cases they never marry or even desire an independent life of their own. They assume the parent’s values and lifestyle without question and when the parents die they still show no rebellion or relief. They simply finish out their lives in obedience and conformity. While that style has some attraction, particularly as you think of John Patrick, Peter, and Matthew, you feel that it is “too perfect”. So did I.