Our journey through life is a slog through hostile territory.
Stewing in the Evils of the Valley of Tears makes firm our Grip on the Gift of Paradise
All of our complaints against God's rescue plan originate from our intimate contact with the evils of the Valley of Tears. Yet, our baptism in the evils of the Valley of Tears brings multiple blessings to us. It is harsh but effective medicine. One of the blessings is that our baptism in the evils of the Valley of Tears makes firm our grip on the gift of paradise.
Between the gift of life and the gift of paradise, God inserted a delay. During the delay, we stew in the evils of the Valley of Tears like pickles in a barrel of toxic brine.
Why? Why are we baptized in the evils of the Valley of Tears before we are given the gift of paradise?
God did not baptize Lucifer, the gaggle of angels who follow Lucifer, Eve, Adam and the prodigal son in evil before he gave them the gift of paradise. They were given the gift of life and the gift of paradise simultaneously. Yet, all of them fumbled the ball. They let the gift of paradise slip through their fingers. God does not want the children of Adam and Eve to repeat the mistake (a/k/a original sin) of their parents. So God lets us stick our fingers into the flames to learn for ourselves the hard way that the fire is hot. The prodigal son will never return to the pig sty. Neither will we. When the gift of paradise is given to us, we will not fumble the ball as did Lucifer, the gaggle of angels who follow Lucifer, Eve, Adam and the prodigal son. We will keep the gift of paradise. Our own personal experience teaches us that the alternative to paradise is a shithole. Rational creatures avoid living in a shithole. It is against their self-interest to do so. It is crazy to do so. Our baptism in the Valley of Tears is harsh but effective medicine. Once bitten, twice shy.
P.S. The sour truth is the medicine. The sweet truth is the sugar that helps the medicine go down in the most delightful way .
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The Tweak God Made to Increase the Likelihood that We Would Keep the Gift of Paradise After We Get It
For the children of Adam and Eve, God tweaked the timetable for the delivery of the gift of life and the gift of paradise. Instead of simultaneous delivery, God instituted sequential delivery. First, God delivers the gift of life. God then inserts a delay - a brief delay. Last, God delivers the gift of paradise. The delay is the source of all our complaints. We don’t complain about the gift of life. We don’t complain about the gift of paradise. We complain about the delay. The delay throws us into a tizzy. In the Valley of Tears, we receive a baptism by fire and we dislike it. The delay, however, is the medicine that increases the likelihood that we will keep the gift of paradise when it is delivered to us. Without the delay, we would repeat the original sin of our parents, Adam and Eve, who let the gift of paradise slip through their fingers - who fumbled the ball. The delay inoculates us against post delivery paradise opt out. God wants more for us - much more for us - than to be his pets locked in a gilded cage for our own safety and protection. Paternalism is not the policy of God. He respects the freedom of our wills. Paradise is not a prison, God is not our warden, we are not his prisoners. No matter how gilded, a cage is still a cage. God wants us to be cage free.