God’s Adopted Children

When God had created the earth, the most beautiful spot was the Garden of Paradise. It was filled with giant trees and lovely flowers, whilst wonderful animals roamed through it. Everything was good, but there was no one to enjoy it, for the first man had not yet been created.

Then God took clay, shaped it into a body and breathed into it a soul. At once it stirred, the red blood ran through the living flesh and God looked upon the first man and called him Adam. Straight and strong he stood before his Maker. The cool morning breeze stirred his hair and he breathed in the sweet air of the Garden of Paradise. It was good to be alive. The bees hummed in the warm sunlight, the little birds sang with all their might, delicious fruits hung heavy from the branches of the trees and all the earth was filled with joy.

Adam was very beautiful. He was not as strong as the lion, he could not run as fast as the deer, he could not see as far as the eagle, but he was king of all because he had a soul. He could think and he could speak, he could know and love God.

At night he slept without fear beneath the branches of some great tree. No beast ever harmed him. In the morning he awoke full of strength, played with the animals, plunged into the cool, clear waters of the streams and plucked the ripe fruits from the trees.

One day God put Adam into a deep sleep, took a rib from his side, formed it into the body of a woman and breathed into it a soul. When Adam awoke, he saw beside him a person like himself, he called her Eve and at once loved her more than anything on earth. With her he could enjoy everything more, together they could talk about the dear God who had made them both.

In the long afternoons God Himself came and talked with them. They asked Him questions and He told them wonderful things. He told them that as dearly as they loved each other, it was as nothing to His love for them; that they were more to Him than the whole world and that He would rather have the sun and stars go out and the earth burn up than have the smallest sin creep into their hearts. And Adam and Eve thought they could never sin and hurt so good a God. Indeed, they knew nothing about sin—it was easy to be good and they did not want to do anything wrong. Their souls were as white as the lilies in the garden.

And God told them that when He put their souls into their bodies He adopted them as His own children, so that not only was He their Maker, but their Father. Oh, how happy and proud Adam and Eve felt when they learned that the great God was their Father. This made them holy and far greater than they would have been had God not adopted them. It gave them a right to His kingdom in Heaven and meant that some day they would go there and see Him face to face.

If you wanted to join the army, you would become a soldier by putting on the uniform of your country. But if ever you should turn and fight against your country, you would lose your uniform and be disgraced forever.

Now God adopted Adam and Eve by clothing their souls in sanctifying grace. But if ever they should turn against God, they would lose sanctifying grace and be disgraced forever.

But to do such a terrible thing was far from their minds, and they only thought how they might please God and thank Him for having made them, and above all for having given them the priceless gift of sanctifying grace.

Their days were filled with gladness and they looked forward to the moment when they should see God, for although He spoke to them and may have used the shape of a body, they had never seen Him as He is.

And God has made you as well as Adam and Eve. But He could have made many other little boys and girls instead of you. Are you glad He didn’t? Are you glad He made you? Have you ever thanked Him for making you?