FROM A DOLLOP OF CLAY,
the Creator God
with His bare hands
configured a man
Into His own image,
breathing His spirit
into lifeless matter,
and miraculously transmogrified mud
into flesh and bone
and living tissue
and as blood filled his body
man became a living soul:
fearfully and wonderfully made.
Bestowed the mantle of authority
over all creatures on land, air and sea,
he was prince and sovereign
of the dominions of created earth:
the very image of God
in Eden,
a paradise of dreamscapes,
of magnificence unequalled,
where no storms or inclement weather
ever threatened,
where primeval peace prevailed
between man and beast.
In His wisdom
God saw
that Adam needed a helpmate;
that it was not good
for man to be alone;
and one starlit eve
as Adam slept,
God created from a rib
a beauteous being
never seen before:
a woman,
to be his mate.
But in the epicentre of paradise
evil lurked
coiled up the forbidden tree,
speaking deceptive half-truths
into the malleable heart of Eve,
stirring the appetite for power
and forbidden knowledge,
Inciting disobedience and rebellion,
while Adam, too feeble
to resist the devilâs lure,
brought death into Eden
and the loss of his authority
and immortality
â surrendering all
to the dark prince of the air.
Hiding from the Lord
as He walked in the Garden
in the evening
to commune with them,
they were ashamed to meet Him
in their guilt and nakedness
made apparent through sin;
they knew too late now
the malevolence of evil
and its consequence:
the loss of Eden
and of their intimacy
with their Creator.
Death and sorrow
and separation
are the fruit of disobedience and rebellion
against the Lord of Life.
Only the second Adam,
the Son of God Himself,
can bring hope of Paradise
to man once more.
(Genesis 1:26-31; 2, 3)
Dr Oliver Seet is a member of Wesley Methodist Church and a Board Director of the Metropolitan YMCA.