“[The serpent] spoke to the Woman: ‘Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the
garden?’ The Woman said to the serpent, ‘Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about
the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t
even touch it or you’ll die.’’ The serpent told the Woman, ‘You won’t die. God knows that the moment you
eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God,
knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.’ When the Woman
saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out
of it – she’d know everything! – she took and ate the fruit and then gave some
to her husband, and he ate.”
(Genesis 3:1-6,
The Message)
The serpent promised Eve
new eyes to see what God sees. Adam and Eve got a new perspective after they
ate the fruit – yes, they were! – but it wasn’t God’s perspective. The serpent
taught them to doubt God’s goodness, to suspect hidden agendas beneath the
straightforward commands God gave for their happiness. The serpent taught them, in short, to find misery where God had
intended only good from them. For us.
No longer comfortable with
their new knowledge and perspective, Adam and Eve hid from God. They believed
that the shame they were experiencing must reflect God’s true view of them. The serpent, after all, had told them that
eating the forbidden fruit would open their eyes. The terrible irony is that
before they ate the fruit, Adam and Eve already had a god-like view of the
world they inhabited. The serpent took away the very thing he promised to give.
Since that day in the
Garden, our perspective has been shewed. We find it very hard to believe what
may be the simplest, most fundamental truth of all: God loves us, and He wants what is best for us. Don’t forget that!
THINK BIG.
START SMALL GO DEEP.
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