Jump Start # 2377

Genesis 2:19 “Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.”

A couple of my little granddaughters got little kittens recently. We were there when my daughter and her husband walked in with the cute little things. They girls jumped and squealed with excitement. They couldn’t believe it. Immediately, came the choice of what they were going to name them. “Bubbles” and “Pickles” were the chosen names. After a trip to the vet it was discovered that “Bubbles” wasn’t a girl, but a boy. Instead of brother and sister cats, the girls got two boy cats.

Our verse came to my mind when I was watching those sweet little girls hugging their new little pets. Adam was really intelligent. That’s the way God made him. Modern evolution doesn’t have any space for Adam in the transition from primate to modern man. The Holy Spirit tells us in Corinthians that Adam was the first man. He wasn’t a link. He wasn’t a link that was missing. His ancestors were not monkeys. It was not the goo, to the zoo, to you.

From our verse today notice what Adam was able to do:

First, he was capable of recognizing the differences in animals. Some animals fly. Some craw. Some move fast. Some move very slow. Some look cute. Some look odd. We went to Alaska a few years ago. I was interested in seeing one thing—Moose. And, I did. Lots of moose. We saw eagles, bears and whales. God’s creatures are beautiful, interesting and so different.

Second, Adam had the knowledge and vocabulary to name all of these different animals. The first man didn’t grunt. He wasn’t a cave man that pulled his woman by her hair. That’s the stuff for cartoons. Not only could Adam speak, but he developed words that were not expressed before. What Adam called these animals were not words that had other meanings or borrowed from books, movies or Googled.

We’d love to know what language Adam spoke. We don’t know. But notice, he called these animals by names. It was more than pictures on a cave wall. Words were spoken. The Holy Spirit uses many of these words throughout the Bible. We read in Scriptures of donkeys, horses, sheep, goats, birds, foxes, deer and ox. I don’t think the Holy Spirit changed or corrected what Adam had called these animals. So, the Holy Spirit was borrowing from Adam and using the names that he came up with.

Third, not in our verse, but in the context, is God telling Adam to till the garden. Adam didn’t have a farmer as a neighbor that he could get some advice from. Within the heart and the mind of Adam, God made him smart, talented and able to not just survive but to function well in the world he was put in.

Fourth, as smart and talented as God made Adam, he wasn’t made to be independent. Adam needed God. God made us to need Him and to want Him. Adam wasn’t like you and I. We come into this world without even knowing our name. We cannot survive without adults to help us. We need someone to feed us. We need someone to teach us. We cannot even speak.

But I have seen something through the eyes of my little grandchildren that we often forget:

We come with a marvelous excitement about God’s natural world. Rainbows, birds flying in the sky, dead worms on the sidewalk, dandelions all bring a sense of wonder from little hearts. Adults get excited about numbers in a bank book, but for little ones, it’s sticking feet in the sand, chasing bubbles that are blown in the sky, sunshine and stars at night. Somewhere along the line, we grow up and we don’t notice these things very much. They don’t excite us as they once did.

We come with a wonderful joy in our hearts. I believe environment and your surroundings have a lot to do with this, but the stats prove that children laugh much more than we adults. We worry. They laugh. We get stressed. They laugh. We get down. They laugh. I just wonder what you and I would experience if we got take one walk through the garden of Eden? I suppose some would complain about the bugs and not having any bars on their phones. Some would probably be bored and would rather be inside watching TV. But I hope for the people of God, that we’d see things that maybe we miss every day. Colors. Sounds. Textures. Smells. It’s all around us. The wind makes a noise. The rain makes a noise. The rivers make a noise. Animals make noises. It’s no wonder that Paul had to tell some, “Rejoice.” We forget. There is much to see and so much to be thankful for. We need to get outside more, get away from electronics more, and see the wonderful world God has made.

We come with such a purity and an innocence. In that way, we are like Adam. Nothing sordid. Nothing perverted. Nothing offensive. Nothing off color, indecent or suggestive. Sweet innocence. Pure. Special. Even, holy.

Maybe, in some ways this is why Jesus told the disciples to be converted and become like children. Curious. Sweet. Helpful. Not tainted with hatred, prejudice or ugliness. Children can fight and get upset and then moments later, be playing together again. All is forgotten. Adults remember. Adults draw lines and stop being friends with each other. Adults judge, point fingers, and get angry with each other. We divide. We split churches. We refuse to talk to those who disagree with us. Sometimes, I think we act more like children than children do.

Adam was pretty impressive. He had a lot going for him. He was God’s first. And, like Adam, God has filled you with talent, ability and opened doors of opportunity for you. And, like Adam, you must decide whether to trust God and follow Him, or to listen to the serpents of our day. God has wired each of us the way we are and wants us to use those talents to honor Him and grow the kingdom.

In some ways, Adam seems so long ago. But in other ways, he’s a lot like you and I. Smart. Gifted. And, having God’s thumbprint on his heart.

Bubbles and Pickles. I have a hard time telling them apart. I expect Adam could.

Roger