Few people think of February as their favorite month. For most people, it is certainly not a time for observing nature, if by nature we mean birds and wildflowers and butterflies.

Yet there is a portion of nature we could all observe without moving one yard away from the warm kitchen stove. It is human nature. What is it? What is truly human and, in this context, what is truly natural?

When we see someone doing something dishonest, or selfish, or jealous, we say, "That's human nature." Yet we hope and believe there is some goodness in the human heart, and some special act of generosity or kindness to a person or to a beast is called "humane." What is the truth about our nature?

This question evidently occupied our spiritual ancestors thousands of years ago. In the first chapter of Genesis, we have the stately account of God creating things in ordered steps, and finally creating humans in his own image, with power over the other creatures (a responsibility we should be taking more seriously).

Then in the second chapter of Genesis we get a different story of creation. The man is molded out of dirt, and his wife out of his rib, and they grievously disobey their heavenly Father.

Which story is correct? In fact the Bible does not ask us to choose; it presents both. Each story stimulates the heart and mind to a deeper understanding of reality. We were indeed created nobly to fulfill the purposes of God - yet we repeatedly fail to do so. Make no mistake, Adam and Eve are not just shadowy figures in an ancient book. They are us, you and me, and everyone we know.

We all have the potential for what is excellent and good, and we all constantly think, say, and do things that we shouldn't. Even the worst people sometimes do something generous and good; even the best people sometimes slip and do something for which they are later very sorry. Wealth, education, a happy home, and a challenging job do not cure this ambiguity, this conflict of forces in the human heart.

Which side then is "natural"? Putting the two chapters of Genesis together, we may say that we were first created good but later sinned. On this view, we may say that the good side of humanity is what is truly natural. On the other hand, the bad side of us constantly asserts itself. We sin, and see others sin, in thought, word and deed, constantly, when there is no need of it, no reason for it, no accounting for it. It is this observable reality which has come to be called "human nature." This is something to reflect on in the season of Lent.

Left to our own devices, men and women constantly sin. As Christians we know that it is the grace of God which helps us overcome sin. Grace is above mere nature; grace is super-nature, if you will. Yet were not human beings made in the first place to be in communion with God? Does not super-nature provide our original and ultimately true nature? Christianity is our road home, the path traversing earthly obstacles, the way to become what we were meant to be.

(The Rev. Canon) H. Boone Porter, senior editor