Genesis 3 The fall of Man
Often when I photograph a lost poppy in the field it looses almost all its leaves before I leave. Like man he is not excluded from the merciless winds of war that surround us. This is also the reason why the poppy is associated with war, especially the Great War (1914-1918) Myth tells that poppies grows in ground where blood is shed. That’s why they are red. If you don’t believe me take a trip up the Western Front during summer!
War breeds in the womb. War starts at home. Our children see us fighting each other. Where there is war there are scrupulous tyrants. War is blood. War is endless It is red. war is barbwire and trench filled carcasses! I feel grieve, pain and poverty. Humiliation, separation and starvation, a desperate desperation to the mercy of God to release us from the hell we created from out paradise! Did man learn anything from it? I doubt it because history have proved to continuously repeat itself
Why are we continuously in war? Could it be out of jealousy? The serpent wanted to be better than his Creator. Kian was jealous of Able because God did not favor his offer. Sara of Hagar because of an innocent child; Saul of David because he was a man after God’s own heart. Even David’s own son wanted to kill him for the crown.
We are created in the image of God but the disobedience of man separates him from the divine protection. Of his Creator; separates us from each other; from our loved ones. Our disobedience makes us as fragile as the tiny red poppy, and strips us naked
When my first poppy bloomed I was as eager as the parent of a first born to photograph it down to the finest details. From its little head down to the tiniest toe. To my utmost shock this firstborn had the physical characteristics of a serpent. But like any mother heart you accepted it and knew it was the most beautiful gift you ever received.
I picked every little poppy and treasure it inside the safety of a home made from stone. But not even the safest home could prevent my little poppy from rot and decay. I had to clean it up; that is what you are suppose to do with dead flowers; dead things. That’s where I learn what the law of harvest really means: As you sow you will reap. When you sow you spread a seed of hope. Hope often does not bring you very far but it is a good companion. I left it on the little glass table for month. I wanted to see it return from where it came from. This whole process made me realize that we are indeed as the little flower from the Bible. We can die suddenly; but even if we grow weary and fall apart we are still beautiful because we have to die to live. The moment when you are born you are already starting to die.
Question: Why did the serpent chose to deceive the woman and not Adam?