Story of God - Justin Bieber
Before the first shadow that touched our hearts, there was only light
I'm not just talking about the sunlight that would filter through the canopy like liquid gold, warm on my skin
I'm talkin' about life, the air itself tasted sweet, like honey in rain, everything hummed
The garden wasn't just a place we lived, it breathed with us
There was no fear here, fear hadn't even been invented yet (Oh, ooh)
A lion, this massive, beautiful creature, would lean its heavy head into my touch
Everything was connected, everything was exactly as it was meant to be (Ooh)
And Eve, when I look at her, I finally understand what God meant when he said, "Very good" (Oh)
And then, there's Him, it's the cool of the day, that's when he comes
You always know when he's near
The air, it changes, expected (Oh, oh, oh)
Like the atmosphere itself is leaning in to listen
We hear the sound first, not heavy footsteps, but the shifting of the atmosphere
A weight of goodness moving through the trees
And we run, we run toward the sound (Oh, oh, oh)
His voice, it isn't just sound
It's the foundation of everything
When he speaks it's warm, resonant, it vibrates in my chest (Oh, why?)
They talk about the colors of the water, where the monkeys chatter so much, what it means to be us
There's no gap between us, no hesitation, no hiding, it's complete
It's a feast, right? Everywhere you look, taste the explosion in your mouth
We're completely free, except in the very centre the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Ooh)
It's the only boundary line in the world without walls
God is very clear, don't touch it, the day you eat it, you die (Oh, oh, oh)
Die? the word just hangs in the air, it means nothing to us (Ooh, oh, oh)
We trust it, of course we do
But I find myself near it more often than I admit, it's stunning (Ooh, oh, oh)
The fruit looks different, it doesn't just look delicious, it looks wise
Eve, one day by the tree, and there's this voice, smooth like polished stone
It belongs to the serpent, the most clever, the most beautiful of them all
He doesn't shout, he doesn't threaten, he just asks a question
"Did God really say you can't eat from any tree?"
It's a simple question, but it shifts the entire world on it's axis
Suddenly, the God who gave us everything, sounds restrictive (Ooh, oh)
The serpent tells me I will die (Ooh, oh)
Tells me my eyes will be opened, that I'll be like God (Ooh, oh)
That's the lure, it's not rebellion, it's ascension, it's the promise of more (Ooh, oh)
He makes it sound like God is holding out on us
The fruit is heavy on my hand, its skin is smooth, cool to the touch (Ooh, I [?], yeah)
The tension is unbearable, imbibed
The taste isn't just sweet or bitter, it tastes like everything at once
The world tilts, she brings it to me, her eyes are wild (And it's wild)
My gut screams that, "This is wrong" (There's no pain [?])
My parter, my reflection, she is still standing (Oh my)
I trust her more than I trust the voice of God, I eat (Oh my)
And instantly, the light fractures (Oh my God)
It's like a mirror, shattering inside my soul
The air turns cold (Oh my God), I look at Eve, she looks at me
And for the first time, I mean really for the first time
I see we are exposed, vulnerable, naked (And I said, "Oh my God")
This is shame, we scrambled, panicked (I said, "Oh my God")
We grabbed these big, rough, fig leaves, stichin' them to gather (I said, "Oh my God")
They scratched my skin, they cover nothing (I said, "Oh my God")
And then we hear it, His footsteps
The sound that used to mean love, that used to mean safety (Oh my, Oh my God)
Now means dread, absolute dread (Oh my God)
We run, we hide in the thickest, darkest bush we could find (Oh my God), holding our breath
And then His voice, it's not angry, not shouting, it's worse, it's heartbroken, "Where are you?"
He knows exactly where we are physically
He's asking where we've gone relationally
Where we stand, trembling, covered in itchy leaves
The question comes, gentle, but firm, "What have you done? Did you eat the fruit?"
Is this where the fracture deepens? The break spreads?
I look at the woman I love, and I point, "Is this the woman you gave me? I blame her? I blame Him?"
And I point to the serpent, he tricked me
The blame shifts faster and faster, we throw responsibilities anywhere, but ourselves
And the verdict comes down that the world is broken now, because we broke it
The ground will fight us, Earth will be a battle
Relationships will be complex, painful, and death
That word we didn't understand now, has a shape, it has our shape
But then the strangest moment, He kneels down, He takes an animal
One of the creatures Adam named
It's the first death we witnessed, and he makes clothes for our skins that are heavy
And they smell of loss, and they cover the shame
The fig leaves was our idea, the covering is His
It's this terrifying tender moment, he's judging us, yes, but he hasn't abandoned us
But we can't stay, we've chosen knowledge over intimacy
He walks us to the edge of the garden
The air gets thinner out here, the ground is hard on my feet
As we take that final step out of Eden, we look back
And it's overwhelming, a celestial being
An angel blazing with light and fire, holding a sword than spun, like it's a whirlwind
The gates slammed shut with a sound that echoes across the universe
We're outside, it's cold, the sun is setting
We lost paradise, we lost an unbroken connection, we broke the world
And that's how the silence began, the separation
But as we walked away into the dust, and the thorns we carried
A strange promise with us would whisper from God about a coming savior
Someone who would crush the serpent's head
The door to the garden was closed
But the Story of God was just the beginning
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