God gave the gift of life and the gift of paradise simultaneously to Lucifer, to the gaggle of angels who follow Lucifer, to Eve, to Adam and to the prodigal son. However, with regard to the children of Adam and Eve, God changed the timetable for the delivery of gifts. He delivers the gift of life and the gift of paradise to the children of Adam and Eve sequentially instead of simultaneously. He inserted a delay between the gift of life and the gift of paradise. Why? All of the beneficiaries of simultaneous delivery fumbled the ball. They let the gift of paradise slip through their fingers. They didn’t keep it. God wants the children of Adam and Eve to keep the gift of paradise when the gift of paradise is delivered to them. The delay increases the likelihood that we will keep the gift of paradise when it is delivered to us. Our experience in the Valley of Tears between the gift of life and the gift of paradise educates us. It is the sledgehammer that shatters the sugarcoating that the serpent poured over the sour truth of the Valley of Tears to distort our perception of reality. As we pass through the Valley of Tears, we eat the bread of adversity and drink the water of affliction (Isaiah 30:20-22). The rod is not spared on the children of Adam and Eve in the Valley of Tears. Spare the rod and spoil the children (Proverbs 13:24) (Hebrews 12:5-11). Having put our fingers into the flames we know that the fire is hot. Once burned; twice shy. The prodigal son will never return to the pig sty and neither will we. We know better.
The current of salvation flows from godlessness to paradise through the bloody wounds we opened in the body of Christ. We can surf it to our salvation.