Made for the Tropics

Genesis 2:6-8, "But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed."

I tend to be cold often. Some say it is because there is no fat on my bones. It could be that I do almost no cardiovascular conditioning. Blankets are some of my favorite things to collect. Quilts, throws, soft, warm - I have stacks in my room. If I were in charge of the thermostat, it would stay above 75 degrees Farenheit. And a summer day is very pleasant if it lingers around 80 degrees.

My theory for this is taken from the verses above. In the beginning the earth, creation scientists speculate, was entirely tropical. The climate was high-pressure, humid, warm, and stable. In this world, God planted a pleasant garden. The word paradise is an ancient Persian word meaning "enclosed garden." Into this place, God put man. There He created woman.

After Adam and Eve's sin, they were banished from the garden. But the world, covered in a layer of water vapor, functioned still like a greenhouse, leaving the whole world a place to be happily inhabited. Yet the wickedness of man grew, and God unleashed the fountains of the great deep, rained down the water vapor canopy, and left us with the broken climate, atmospheric conditions changing from place to place and over time.

Now there are few regions in which the climate is tropical. These are places I, at least, avoid due to the renowned bugs and diseases present. (The dangers of these bugs and diseases were also caused by the Curse on Adam for his sin.) So I live in Colorado, where the temperature ranges from 10 below zero to the low 100's. And I am cold a lot of days.

But I have a good excuse. As our souls were created for immortality, so our bodies were created for the tropics.

To God be all glory.