The story of Adam and Eve
reminds me of a story
that a Philosophy professor told our class
many years ago.
There was a child
who was especially gifted
in one thing:
Among his playmates,
he was the undisputed champion
of the game “Hide and Seek.”
For some reason, this boy had a special eye
not only in hiding in the most unexpected places,
but also in locating where his playmates
sought refuge.
One afternoon, he was outdoors playing the game,
and very easily found each and every one of his playmates.
Then it was his turn to hide,
and of course the hiding place he found
wasn’t easy to identify.
In fact, it was so hard to identify
that before he knew it,
he had fallen asleep waiting to be found.
When he woke up,
the sun had set, and all his playmates were gone.
They had all given up on finding him
and gone home.
There, standing alone in the dark,
the boy burst into tears.
When he saw his mother at home,
he told her why: “I never gave up on them
when they went into hiding, but when it was my turn
why did they give up?”