While shaving this morning I wondered if Adam was created with a full beard and if not did he awaken the morning of day two with stubble and what facilities existed in the Garden of Eden that would have enabled him to shave. I know. That is a totally irrelevant question that has nothing to do with salvation. But when stories from the Bible have been a part of one’s entire life isn’t it natural to wonder about inane details?
I also wonder about power: not the kind of power in a Corvette, but power over one’s self and over others. Did not God create Eve from Adam’s side indicating a shared governance? How is it then that some religious organizations think women should have a diminished role in the church? It is true Paul wrote the following to the Ephesians, “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.” But he also wrote “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” To me that would mean sacrificing everything for her safety, her well-being and having respect for her ideas and opinions. But, I sense a fear in men that by doing so they will somehow lose power, the opiate that addicts egos.
It was a thirst for unreasonable power that sparked the rebellion in heaven when the Morning Star said, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly.” But Jesus who had all power never hesitated to set it aside and become one of us. He took our lowly position that we could inherit His lofty place. See Philippians 2:5-8. This is a topic truly worth our contemplation.
Written by Roger Bothwell on June 28, 2017
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