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A Personal Devotional by Debbie Hall
After The Fall
Life was different before the fall. People and animals lived in the Garden of Eden, and they were not afraid of each other. It was wonderful! But then Adam and Eve sinned against God. They did what they wanted to do instead of what God wanted. They "fell" from the perfect relationship they and the animals had enjoyed with God and with each other. After this fall, people and animals were afraid of each other. The stronger animals began to look at the weaker animals and see lunch! Most of the animals were very afraid.
Without telling the stronger animals what they were doing the weaker animals called a meeting where they brought a complaint to an angel of God. " This is not fair," they said, " The stronger animals are going to eat us up."
Then the angel spoke saying, " My dear animals, God is not unfair. He knew that the humans could choose to sin and do what they wanted instead of what He wanted. Everything that is happening is the result of sin." "But God also wants you to know that he created everyone of you uniquely to live as He planned. At that point all the animals said, " How can we survive when the other animals are stronger?" Then the angel said, " I’ll have to tell each of you how you have been created to survive." Then he looked at the parrots, parakeets, bats, nightingales, sparrows, and other birds and spoke; " You have all been given your wings to fly from danger; so do so!" The birds were very grateful and flew away.
" But what about me," said an orangutan. " I have no wings and I cannot fly, I only have these long arms," As he spoke a chimpanzee scratched his head and a gorilla "aped" him. The angel patiently responded that their arms were for climbing trees, something their enemies could not do. "Awesome" said the monkeys, and they began to climb the trees, swinging from branch to branch. As they went a baboon got his backside caught on a tree limb, and that’s why baboon’s backsides look funny to this day!
Then a rabbit said, "this is not right." "I certainly can’t fly with these big ears and I can’t climb with these big feet. What good are these to me?" When he mentioned his big ears, many of the other animals laughed, because he really did have big ears! At this the angel said, "Mr. Rabbit, you need to accept the way you are. With your big ears you will be able to hear the stronger animals coming from far away. And with your big feet you will be able to hop faster than the others can run. Go ahead, try it." At this point the rabbit began to hop. He was so excited that he hopped here, he hopped there, and he hopped everywhere. Many of the other animals now wished they had big ears and big feet also! One of them, a kangaroo, started hopping too, and soon all the hopping animals were gone. At once the angel looked at the elk, deer, gazelle, horses and zebras. "You are fast also, but so are the stronger animals. You will need to stick together in herds for protection. You need each other." With that in mind, off went those animals.
Then the angel looked at the animals still around and thanked them for waiting. "Mr. Camel, you can travel so long on so little water that you can live in the desert, where fewer of the stronger animals are. On longer trips you may want to take a second hump!" "Mr. Elephant, you’re far too large to worry about any animal mistreating you. They won’t bother you-now don’t forget that!" "Ms. Chameleon, where are you Ms. Chameleon? Oh, I see you’ve discovered your defense!" "Mrs. Mouse, yours will simply have to be a small world- After all, the other animals will mostly overlook you!" "Mr. Pig, when you get in a squeeze, don’t be a ham, but let out a squeal and your enemy will run away before everyone turns to the commotion." "Miss Porcupine, I think you’ll be able to discover your defense easily enough, and Mr.’ Skunk, well, what can I say except the Lord works in mysterious ways!"
At this point there was only one animal left- a lamb. A little spotless white lamb. "Oh dear," said the angel. "I don’t have any instructions for you. I will go back to God and get them." "Oh no, you mustn’t," said the lamb. "The Lord has already told me what my defense is. What on earth could a frail lamb like yourself have as a defense?" said the angel. "Love," replied the lamb, "sacrificial love." As the lamb walked away the angel said, "I don’t understand."
A few thousand years later that same angel was sent to minister to Jesus Christ before his death on the cross. "Lord Jesus, may I ask you a question?" the angel said. "Why are you about to die?" Jesus looked at the angel and said, "Love. Sacrificial love." At that the angel saw Jesus taken to the cross where he died for the sin of the world. Just then the angel heard a voice saying, "behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." "Now I understand," said the angel.
Rev. Danny Campbell, Pastor, Wayne Hills Baptist Church
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