“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord had made.” — Genesis 3:1
We humans understand the need for law, but our pride causes us to resent it just the same. The problem is that our pride rebels against authority, all authority. We don’t like someone telling us what to do even if it is for our own good.
The account of the fall of Man in the Garden of Eden is an account of such a rebellion and its consequences. Now, there weren’t many rules in the garden; God gave Adam and Eve only one command. They were supposed to love God by trusting in His goodness and living within the boundaries He set for them. They could have anything they wanted except one thing; the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
You may wonder why God put that tree there in the first place but consider this, there had to be something that demonstrated faith and trust. It wasn’t much, just one tree in the midst of millions. It shouldn’t have been that hard to avoid. The key question now becomes, “Will these humans be content with what God has provided, or will they put Him to the test?”
The truth is boundaries establish freedom; they define the parameters and create order. God is a God of order and as creator, He is the only one who has the sovereign authority to set those boundaries. Just look where the blurring of the boundaries has gotten us in our society today! And so I'm sure you know what happened. They ate the fruit that they weren't supposed to and as a result suffering and death entered the world. Not fair you say? Well, you and I have participated in the same rebellion against God and so has every generation that has ever lived. But rather than wash His hands of us, God showed rather that He is a God of love and mercy.
Because sin entered the world through a man and a tree, salvation would now also come through a man and a tree. On the cross Jesus paid the penalty of death that was put on mankind in the garden, and in the end, He rendered His own verdict as, ‘paid in full.”
The relationship that was severed out of rebellion is now restored through repentant faith in Jesus Christ.
“This is why I forgive you”, God tells us, “This is why you never need to run and hide from me like your 1st parents did.”
So, let me ask you a question…which tree are you focused on today? The one that feeds your pride and obscures your vision of God’s blessings, or the one that gives His blessing? One tree leads to eternal destruction the other to eternal life.
It is only when you look to the cross of Christ and see what was done there for you that you begin to clearly see the forest of God’s blessings to you in Christ both now and forever. Amen.
