Happy Thanksgiving!

Most people get it wrong.

We sinned, people say, and this caused a separation between us and God.

Not so.

God created a distance between us and God—and this allowed us to sin.

This is clear even in the symbolic language of the story of Adam and Eve.

God places the forbidden trees in the midst of the garden—tells Adam and Eve not to touch them—and leaves the garden.

They must make a choice. To be human is to choose. To be human is to have freedom to choose.

It is the seeming absence of God that allows Adam and Eve to try the fruit.

The Garden of Eden was like heaven. We cannot grow as human beings in heaven—and God wants us to have this human experience.

So, God has placed us here—and given us a little distance.

Like the mother who knows her child will never learn to walk if she carries him all the time.

She puts him down and steps back, watching him at every moment.

This is Kierkegaard’s analogy: He says the mother must be both fully present and seemingly absent at the same time.

The child will fall as he learns. He will get some bumps and bruises. But the child will learn to walk.

Kierkegaard is actually talking about God.

God is always with us.

But God has given us the freedom even to deny God’s existence.

It must be this way—if we are to be human.

If we are to have the freedom to grow in grace and understanding.

We must choose love—in a place where love is not always easy.

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The Christmas Show

Sat., Dec. 16, 6:00 p.m.