No man is an isalnd. Everything we say or do, whether we like to acknowledge it or not, effects someone else. This is one of the many profound truths found in the musical, Children of Eden. As the lights go to black, the actors take their places in the darkness, and the orchestra plays. Piercing the darkness, the actors begin to sing, "In the beginning..."
"In the beginning God created the heaven and earth
Without form
Void
Darkness...
And God said, 'Let there be.. LIGHT.'"
Children of
Eden, composed by Stephen Schwartz not only describes God's creation of the universe, it also shares the joys, triumphs, and struggles that the first people must have experienced. I certainly would not want to go through all that Adam and Eve went through. The relationship between man and God was perfect before the fall. However, since God created man with a free will, man inevitably chose to sin. At that moment, the relationship between man and God was marred and so then, the law was established. Following the strict Old Testament laws was the way for the Jews to heal the relationship with God. But, God knew what would happen from the start, and he had a plan.
When Jesus came to earth, His job was to show us what God is like. God is loving, just, and cares deeply about each and every one of us. So much so, in fact, that He would die for us and accept the consequences of our sins.
Anyway, Children of Eden ends long before the time of Jesus, but is a wonderfully written musical that fully understands the consequesces of the fall. Here are the lyrics to the act I finale:
Like this brief day, my light is nearly gone
But through the night my children,
you will go on
You will know heartache
Prayers that don't work
And times of bitter circumstances
But I still believe
In second chances....
Children of Eden
Where have we left you?
Born to uncertainty
Destined for pain
Sins of your parents
Haunt you and test you
This your inheritance:
Fire and rain
Children of Eden
try not to blame us
We were just human
To error prone
Children of Eden
Will you reclaim us?
You and your children of come
Some day to come home ...
Children of Eden
Where is our garden?
Where is the innocence
We can't regain
Once eyes are opened, must those eyes harden? Lost in the wilderness must we remain?
Oh my precious children of eden
If you think of us
Try not to blame us
We were just human
To error prone
Children of Eden
You will reclaim us
You and your children to come
Someday you'll come
Home
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