Adam and Eve. No Joke.

A lot of jokes have circulated about Adam and Eve. For example, what did God say after creating Adam? Answer: “I think I can do better than that.” Here’s another one: Why did God create Adam first? Answer: Because he didn’t want any advice. We get a chuckle from these jokes.

Adam and Eve are tailor-made for late-night comedy and bad jokes from the pulpit. But there are some things about the Adam and Eve story that really hit home. There is something ecumenical about Adam and Eve. You don’t have to be Jewish or Christian to appreciate the story. It’s universal and applies to everybody.

Here is my spin on it.

Adam and Eve represent humanity. They are all of us as we try to understand ourselves, our relation to nature, and our relationship to God. In their story we see potential glory become actual tragedy. This is a shift from “dreaming innocence” to moral awareness and ambiguity. Isn’t that us?

We move from childlike innocence to harsh realities. Some of us do this very quickly. We move from simple, pat answers to tough decision-making. We leave the protection of Eden and are thrown into a world of suffering and death. The “good guys” don’t always win, and people don’t always live happily ever after (except in romantic comedies).

We make mistakes. We learn things the hard way. The main theme of our life seems to be the loss of innocence and the desire to return to Eden. There is in the human heart a desire to go home again. We want to return to something we’ve lost. This makes us restless and sometimes sad.

I often see this in the elderly as they come to terms with their limitations. They want to go home. They’ve had enough of “muscular” living.

But when it comes right down to it, most of us don’t want “dreaming innocence” for very long! There is no way to develop character without freedom and risk. If sin is the misuse and abuse of freedom, taking responsibility means the right use of freedom. We aren’t robots. Despite potential glory, it is really actual tragedy that makes us human. This is what we see in Adam and Eve; we see them “growing up” and becoming human.

But we also see God’s grace toward all who are guilty, alienated, and ashamed. It’s called salvation. --Brad