The Ideal

This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the LORD God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land. Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person. (Genesis 2:4-7 NLT)

God has a perfect design for our lives.  Before the first person was created, every detail was thought out.  Light, darkness, the sun, the moon, the stars, gravity, rotation, heat, water, and air would each have their part to play in an amazingly complex and beautiful environment woven together just for you and me.

Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there He placed the man He had made. The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden He placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush. The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates. (Genesis 2:8-14 NLT)

Before the first breath of life, God had already designed green-leafed plants and trees that would take our discarded waste-breath and use it to sustain life, only to return breath to us.  Before the first person muttered the words, "I thirst," God had already surrounded humanity with crystal clear, refreshing, continually reviving, water.

The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. (Genesis 2:8-15 NLT)

Before humanity could say, "I've got nothing to do," God provided us with a reason to get up in the morning.  Each day would be filled with a sense of purpose as we find satisfaction in work and watch over God's creation.

But the LORD God warned him, "You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden —except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die." (Genesis 2:16-17 NLT)

Before humanity could say, "I didn't know," God warned us of dangers involved in the beauty and majesty of creation.  Yes, the view from the cliff will be magnificent and gravity does its well-designed job of keeping us standing in place on that cliff.  That same integral aspect of God's design, however, has a dangerous side.  So, God would warn with a protecting voice, do not jump off the cliff.

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him." So the LORD God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him. (Genesis 2:18-20 NLT)

Before the first person could say, "I'm bored," God provided a seemingly infinite playground to explore.  Fellow creatures would be available to name and watch and figure out.  We would never be without something more to learn.  Of course, we would also uncover the desire to share all of this with someone else like us.

So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the LORD God took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the opening. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and He brought her to the man. "At last!" the man exclaimed. "This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called 'woman,' because she was taken from 'man.'" This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. (Genesis 2:21-24 NLT)

Before Adam could mutter, "I'm alone," God had already said it was not good.  In God's perfect design, one was created same-different.  Human, yet different enough to join together with Adam and produce another human.  Before Adam recognized the need for human relationship and intimacy, God had already designed marriage, sexuality, and the gift of children.

Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame. (Genesis 2:25 NLT)

God's design is perfect.  The people living out this design were perfect.  They had nothing hidden, but there was no shame.  That was because they had nothing to hide.

How about you?  Do you see God's perfect design for our lives?  
How does your life compare to this perfect design?