Oh, how wonderful childlike faith is. It helps us to know that God loves us, cares for us, gives us awesome gifts, and is intensely interested in what we see, do and think. We see this happening in space and time as we visit the creature He created, Adam, in the Garden of Eden.
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. (Genesis 2:18-20)
Here we see a God that knows and loves his creation. He knows that, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” No one had to tell Him this. He didn’t have to consult anyone. He knows. We serve and believe in a God who knows us; and everything about us!
God also gave Adam some neat gifts–a woman and all the beasts of the fields and all the birds of the air. Just think of that for a moment.
The LORD GOD brought Adam his gifts as an earthly father brings gifts to His children. GOD then watched His creation “to see what he would name them.”
We need to stop here and just feast on this thought for a time. I see this as a very important issue as a father of two children and as a child of a set of parents that loved him. When I gave my son or daughter a gift, I just didn’t hand it to them and then walk away.
I handed it over to them, and then stayed and watched them open it. Yes I stayed there and watched them open it with great anticipation. I wanted to see if they liked it, if they saw what I was expecting them to see. If they saw a value in what gift I gave them. My father and mother, I would expect, felt the same way.
How grateful I am for my heavenly Father’s gifts.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift . ( 2 Corinthians 9:15 )
I was raised during a time of simple gifts, and I can still remember some of them. Some of the gifts had an impact on me and my way of thinking. I can remember the shovel that I was given one year. Living out in the country on the plains of Nebraska it snowed during the winter and we needed to dig ourselves out so to speak. Some days I would shovel snow twice a day and with an old heavy shovel I did develop some muscles as a small boy of 8 years old.
Then one day for a gift, I think it was for my birthday, I get this big thing with a bow tied around the handle, a shovel. Not just any shovel but snow shovel. For those that don’t know the difference, the snow shovel is light and wide, not like the shovel I was using to move sand and gravel.
I still remember, even after 40 plus years, that simple gift my parents gave me. Isn’t that amazing? My parents had compassion on me. They loved me and they knew how hard it was to move the snow from where it was to where it needed to be so that we could drive the car. It was an expensive shovel because we were living in simple times.
I can remember the telescope that I got for an Easter gift one year. These were simple times and simple gifts but that telescope I still have, believe it or not. It’s one of those black metal tube types that you can pull out to extend it by three times its normal length. I loved that gift. I would look at the stars and the moon at night and in the day time I would look at God’s creation. That telescope had an impact on my life.
Look at the LORD GOD and His experience with Adam. We are told that ” He brought them to the man to see what he would name them .” We see this happening at the time of Noah too where the LORD GOD brought the animals to the ark that Noah built for their salvation. The LORD GOD was an interested and loving parent, not a detached parent. The LORD GOD brought HIS creation to Adam, and Adam was engaged in the experience. It was something exciting for both of them.
Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive . (Genesis 6:20)
We also see the respect Adam had for the LORD GOD. We don’t read that Adam commented about how ugly it looked, or how he didn’t want to name it. There is this quiet realization that his creator gave this animal to him to name, to identify, to take care of. Adam was honoring the LORD GOD. There was this issue of respect and honor even in the beginning in the garden.
The LORD GOD then empowered Adam. Do you see it? It says, “whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.” I don’t know why that brings tears to my eyes as I write this, but it does.
Maybe through the eyes of childlike faith I see Adam standing there in the garden, and the LORD GOD brings one of His creations, a European Earwig up to Adam. The LORD GOD says to Adam, “what is it’s name son?” Adam says to the LORD GOD, “This is a ‘Forficula auricularia ‘. The LORD GOD then says to all creation, “My child has called this animal ‘Forficula auricularia’ and so it is.”
Every day the LORD GOD brings us gifts of his creation. He is right there with His creation and waiting to see what we name it. Do we name it “GOOD”, “BAD” or “UNACCEPTABLE”. Do we disregard it as rubbish, or do we cherish it as a gift from the LORD GOD?
Does this not happen every day my friends? It happens every day, I assure you. The problem is that so many people, including myself I’m sure, don’t see it happening all the time.
The CREATOR GOD, the LORD GOD of the universe brings about a set of circumstances that is of HIS creation and bestows a gift on us. We just look at the gift and complain that it wasn’t what we wanted. That gift could be as simple as a pin to something as significant as a wife and that child you criticize so much.
Thank you, Father, for all your awesome gifts!
Scripture references taken from the New International Version. Copyright 1973,1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.