The night air was heavy with moisture after the downpour and was filled with the sounds of crickets. There wasn’t a breath of air stirring but as I stepped off the bus there was an air of expectation so strong you could almost cut it with a knife. I got in line and stood there with the others, not saying a word … barely even breathing. And then, there he was!

It was certainly Smokey’s hat all right. The brim was flat and the peak had the all-familiar four dimples but something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. Smokey wasn’t supposed to sound like this!

In a brief moment, like that instant between a flash of lighting and the deafening explosion, the still air became a cacophony of sounds. None, of which I might add, were in anyway soothing or pleasant. I was faced with a wall of words the likes of which I had never heard. Not only were they un-repeatable, they came in great combinations of stark contrast and discordant sounds. As it was so well put by Ralphie in the movie The Christmas Story … he wove such a tapestry of profanity that they still hang over Cleveland to this day. 

As the square-jawed, steel bodied, leather faced Marine Drill Instructor glared at me (less than an inch from my nose), one thought resounded within every chamber of my brain. It consumed every fabric of my conscious thought process. It flooded my chest with such force I almost shouted out loud …

YOU IDIOT – WHAT HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOURSELF INTO?

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

And so, in a moment of time, a new era opened up in my life that would change the way I viewed things forever. A time so filled with change that it would be years before I fully understood its implications. Only in later years have I fully realized the effect that these changes have had on and in my life. And to think that the God I serve used it all to prepare me for this moment in time. A moment built on years of experience. A moment standing atop a foundation built upon a phrase I was to hear over and over throughout my career in Naval Aviation. As I write these words I hear Gunnery Sgt. Saunders’ words ring in that heavy Florida air just as clearly as I did December 7, 1966; my Pearl Harbor day!

You will either learn what we are going to teach you or YOU WILL KILL YOURSELF! It’s your choice. I’m just here to help you make it. One way or another you will make that choice and I don’t really care which way you choose. But I promise you … you will make it! If you think that’s too hard then just get back on that bus right now and go back home to mama because from this moment on you belong to me! You will learn or you will die! It’s your choice … if you’re still here in the morning then I will assume you have made a choice or you’re too scared not too. Your life from this moment will depend upon your ability to PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL. 

Have you ever noticed how God will supply you with everything you need to fulfill the plan that He has for your life? We are constantly faced with choices that have a direct effect on our life as Christians. Sometimes we choose wisely and sometimes we don’t. The important thing to remember, however, is that whichever way we choose it won’t catch God off guard. He is constantly placing opportunities (choices) in our path and we must make the choice. It’s all about walking in His perfect will for our life. For each one of us this path is completely and totally unique. Just as He created no two of us alike, so He has laid out no two paths that are the same. And it follows that the gifts within us are unique to that individual calling; to the successful fulfillment of His will for our life. 

But just as certainly as we are all uniquely and wonderfully made there are lessons, which He teaches us as individuals that are valuable for us all. These are the lessons that we have learned at a personal price; sometimes a dear price. Lessons that at times have been painful and extremely costly. But these are the lessons that He wants us to share with our brothers and sisters. He has shown each of us wonderful revelations along our individual path of “sanctification” and we need to be aware of the impact that these lessons can have on others. We need to PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL! 

Throughout my career in Naval Aviation I heard that expression over and over again. If you don’t pay attention to detail you’re going to crash, kill yourself and cost the government a lot of money. Sometimes I think the emphasis was on the latter part of that statement. But, never the less, that lesson has had a tremendous impact on my life, both in the natural and in the spiritual.

As we walk down God’s path He is constantly speaking to us, even in His silence. Our life in the flesh is one of constant struggle for the control of our mind. Paul spent a good portion of his letter to the Church at Rome dealing with this subject. So why is it that we struggle and war with our flesh in this constant tug-of-war? What is really at stake here and why do we face the same obstacles and roadblocks over and over again? Well, let’s take a page from the Marine Corps version of Smokey the Bear. It’s all about PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL!

If you have been following my writing over the past couple of years you will no doubt have noticed a distinct theme emerging. God has been trying to get me to slow down and apply some of the lessons I have learned in life to my Christian Walk. Part and parcel to this process is listening for His Word and His direction in all things. If we are moving through our day at the speed of light we aren’t really hearing anything He is saying. That is why He recently spent time showing me; once again, PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL is a matter of life or death.

It’s the little things in life that the enemy uses to trip us up. The things that we rush over in our attempt to make it through the day, make it to the goal, make it to the end or just make it period!  Let’s take a look at one who has gone before us, who didn’t pay attention to detail.

Let’s start at the beginning with Adam. We all know the story but we often forget some of the details. Listen to a small but very important detail that Adam received from God. It was a detail to which he paid no attention and guess what? It killed him. 

In one little detail God presented Adam with his first crossroad in life. It didn’t seem like much to Adam because he completely ignored it. Yet that one little detail would ultimately cost Adam his life. For years I have pondered the events that took place in The Garden of Eden without much revelation. I, like so many others, readily grasp the struggle between good and evil portrayed by God and the serpent, but somehow there always seemed to be more to the story.

Something I was missing.

Just last year I had the opportunity to complete an in-depth study of Genesis again with our men’s fellowship. I remember reading the familiar passages and thinking once again I’m missing something here. It wasn’t until the past few weeks when I started to write this article that God finally got through to me. If what follows is not what actually happened in The Garden it most certainly opened my eyes to one of God’s important truths. Let’s go back to that moment in time and let me paint a picture for you that, hopefully, will at the very least send you to God with a question, is there any truth here or is Tom all wet?

It was on the sixth day that God made man (both male and female; that’s another article altogether) in His own image. We note that He immediately made clear His intentions: 

Gen 1:27-28 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

For our purpose here note that it was God’s plan that man would be fruitful – multiply – replenish the earth – subdue it – have dominion over it. God created man in His Image to take control of the world He had just created … especially for him.

Now jump to Chapter 2 where the creation of Adam is given in a little more detail along with God’s first commandment to him. First we note in verse 6 God that created man from the dust of the ground. Then we note where God put him in verse 8:

Gen 2:8-9 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

There was an entire world out there but God put Adam in a very special place He had made for him; a very small part of that world – The Garden of Eden. Now in the same breath the writer sets before us a couple of very important statements: God made every tree grow and they were all pleasant to look at and good to eat (GOD MADE THEM). 

There were however two trees of importance in The Garden. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (THEY WERE BOTH THERE).

Now come the very first words that God spoke to Adam:

Gen 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

I have highlighted a number of sections in these verses so let’s take them one by one. (Trust me, I am building something here).

First God did not make a suggestion to Adam, the Lord God commanded. The Hebrew word tsavah (commanded) means to command or give a command; to charge with. God charged Adam with the command that he eat of ANY tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The rest we know is history. But let me take a few moments and I ask you to give me some liberty here and see if I can get you to stop and think.

If God planted the Tree of Life in The Garden and commanded man to eat of it then it follows that it was God’s plan for man to live and not die.

Hey Tom, you say, wait just a minute. How can you say that? It just says it was the Tree of Life. I didn’t see anything here that talks about man living forever! Well, let’s to go to the sad ending of the story:

Gen 3:22-24 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 

It was by His Grace that God drove Adam and Eve out of The Garden. If you read through this passage carefully you will see that God told Adam and Eve to leave but they didn’t go so God had to drive them out for their own good. He even set Cherubim’s at the entrance to keep Adam from coming back. The question is why?

We have the answer in the bigger context of Adam and Eve living life eternally in a fallen state, separated from God. But that is really God’s response to Adam’s actions. It’s the why of the whole story that has bothered me for many years. If you will — here is the answer I have finally seen.

Let’s look at some facts that we know or can logically deduce from the scripture. First there was a whole world outside of The Garden. Secondly, the fallen angel (Lucifer; Satan) was on the earth. Thirdly, God had allowed him access to The Garden. Within this context God specifically told Adam to eat of the Tree of Life. It was God’s original intention that man should live forever. If you doubt that, then step back and look at the whole of the New Testament. Jesus was God’s answer to Adam’s sinful act of rebellion … Jesus is eternal life.

Now, while what follows is now my opinion, it is presented with the full intention of getting you to think, to press in closer to God for His revelation.

God created man in His image, which encompasses both God’s spiritual nature and His moral character. As we all know, in the process He did not create Robo-Adam. He gave Adam a free will to choose for himself the direction he would take. In that regard God was first and foremost concerned with Adam’s spiritual condition. God knew what Adam didn’t. There was a whole world out there in which Satan freely roamed. It was Adam’s spirit that needed to be built up, not his flesh. But, God gave Adam a choice and Adam wasn’t PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL!

Had Adam eaten of the Tree of Life, or more appropriately, followed after God and not his flesh, the whole story would have been different. But Adam chose to follow the path of his flesh, the flesh that wanted to know why not the other tree? Isn’t it the same for us? Our flesh is always acting contrary to the spirit. Did you ever wonder why? I just gave you the answer; Adam never gave you a chance.

Let’s look at this from another angle. Did it ever bother you that Adam and Eve walked around naked and were not ashamed, and then in a moment it all changed and they covered themselves to hide their shame? Well, go back to my statement that God was primarily interested in their spiritual life. I can easily imagine that The Holy Spirit was their covering. The Glory of God covered them because He was with them. Remember that God walked with Adam in the cool of the day and we know that God cannot be in the presence of sin. So what happened?

The moment that Adam and Eve sinned the Glory of God departed them and they immediately became ashamed in His absence. For the first time they were not in perfect union with their creator. God had intended for them to become strong in the spirit before they fulfilled His plan to go out in the world and take dominion over it. They were to be so spiritually strong that when they faced the evil in the world outside The Garden they could overcome it. It was God’s eternal plan and so He planted the Tree of Life in the midst of The Garden and told Adam to eat its fruit. But the moment Adam made his decision to go in the opposite direction that option was lost.

It all seemed to happen so fast. It seems as though God didn’t give them enough time to “pass the test.” Well, let me suggest that perhaps it was longer than we think. Listen to this conversation:

Gen 3:1-6 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 

Does this sound like an introductory conversation? The first words out of the serpent’s mouth are a challenge to what God said! And in verse 2 Eve immediately answers him?

No, I think this was not the first conversation that had gone on between the two. Just think about your own life. Sinning is most often a process and it starts with a thought that over time becomes an action. It is that way now and it was in the beginning. I don’t think this was the first time she had seen the serpent in The Garden. Look at the underlined sections above. This doesn’t seem like a first meeting to me. How often do you buy into a stranger’s arguments against your beliefs the first time that he airs them?

So Tom, you think God’s focus was Adams’s spirit and not his flesh. How does that affect me? I know I suffer because of his sin … that’s nothing new. And what does this have to do with a mean Drill Instructor in Florida? 

Glad you asked!

If Adam had eaten of the Tree of Life, man might very well have been strong in the spirit instead of strong in the flesh. Man might very well have had eternal life from the beginning instead of physical death. Man might very well have had a spiritual relationship with God instead of eternal separation. But he did not because he did not PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL. He heard what he wanted to hear. He focused on the voice of the world and not the voice of God. He satisfied the lust of his flesh instead of feeding his spirit. As a result his legacy to mankind was a struggle between the flesh and the spirit. We are all born with a flesh bent nature. Our spirit man is overpowered the moment we are born and it becomes a lifelong fight to build up our spirit over the pulling, tugging, screaming and overpowering desires of the flesh.

But thank God He is faithful not to leave us in that fallen state either!

God had a plan to take back what Adam gave away but it came at the most costly price in the entire universe. It came with the greatest suffering in the history of mankind, but thank God He paid the price for us. Jesus reopened the gate to The Garden for us. Once again man can eat from the Tree of Life. Once again man can walk in a restored relationship with God. But we don’t start out where Adam did. We start out where Adam left off.

When we accept the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and He becomes the Lord and Master over our life our spirit is renewed. But our fleshly nature is not. Instead of being controlled by a strong spirit we too start out with a strong flesh. Instead of going out into the world spiritually strong we find ourselves in the world and spiritually weak.

But God has a plan.

Just like he did for Adam, God is doing for us … each and every day He gives us opportunities to choose. He is constantly setting before us the way of the spirit versus the way of the flesh. But there is one big difference. We came back into The Garden and ate of the Tree of Life after we had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was something Adam couldn’t do. Remember the Cherubims and the flaming sword? Ah, but Jesus took down the flaming sword and proclaimed that all who were thirsty could come and drink:

Gen 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden;  

As a believer in Christ, each and every day God is giving you opportunities to strengthen your spirit. Every time you choose The Spirit over your flesh you win a battle and your spirit grows stronger. But it isn’t easy is it? That is all the more reason we need to listen to His voice and not the voice of the flesh. Have you been having a long-term conversation with the serpent in your garden? Have you been justifying your actions by saying what you want God to say rather than what He said? Isn’t that just like Eve?

Gen 3:2-3 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

God never told Adam “not to touch it.” Have you ever used part of God’s Word to justify your position? I have and the results were the same for me as they were for Eve; the enemy caught me in my lie! When we speak the truth to the enemy he can’t stand, but when we engage him in a conversation apart from the Word of God we are destined to lose, just like Adam and Eve.

God knew Adam was not going to PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL and He knows that we aren’t. But we need to remember that if we don’t PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL we’re going to miss out on God’s best for us just like Adam did. God is forever speaking to us in the everyday details of our lives. Just as His voice is Still and Small, so His instructions are often in fine print; in the details. You can’t read them on the fly! 

• If Noah hadn’t paid attention to the details there wouldn’t have been an ark.
• If Abraham had paid attention to the details he would have left Lot at home and saved him a great deal of trouble.
• What about Moses? If he had paid attention to detail and “spoke to the rock” instead of striking it he would have gone into the Promised Land.
• If Samson had paid attention to detail he wouldn’t have blabbed to Delilah and would have kept his strength.
• If Elisha hadn’t paid attention to the details he would not have followed Elijah and received a double portion of Elijah’s anointing.

The list goes on and on doesn’t it? But look at those in the list that failed to pay attention to detail.  God didn’t abandon them. He kept working with them and He keeps working with us today. He knows that the free will He gave us is going to get us into trouble from time-to-time. That’s why He gave us 1John 1:9; not as an excuse but as bridge back into fellowship. A bridge that Jesus picked up the tab to build; a bridge for which He provided the material — His flesh and blood.

It really isn’t so hard. All we need to do is slow down and listen. When all the world’s noise is closed out His voice remains. When we have difficulty hearing it we need to wait before we take action. Wait for the details. While we’re waiting it’s a good time to pray for His Wisdom. He promised He would give it to us if we believe Him with a faith that doesn’t waver.

Yes, I’ve spent years learning to PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL. It is a habit that started with the words of Smokey The Bear on that hot, wet night in Florida. It began on that damp parking lot in front of a non­descript, run down row of metal barracks. It wound its way through one cockpit after another, from one emergency procedure to another and from one desk to another. But it has never been more important than it is at this moment in my life.

The world may appear to tower over me but I know that it doesn’t. Why? Because it wasn’t God’s original plan. We were first and foremost destined to become spiritual giants in this world; taking dominion over it. Adam blew the first chance but Jesus gave us another. How we go about our second chance is all about PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL.