Good Morning Friends,
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the
Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the
man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will
surely die.’” (Genesis 3:15-17)
What astounding freedom God gave Adam and Eve
in the Garden Eden. It was a perfect place in which they lived. Their work was
unhindered by weeds and thorns and other impediments to fruitfulness. They were
not subject to the pains of guilt and shame. They could enjoy every aspect of
the beautiful garden God had created for them.
There was only one restriction – one tree
that they were commanded not to eat. I can’t imagine living in that kind of
freedom. They weren’t subject to the Ten Commandments. They weren’t subject to
the hundreds of laws by which God gave structure to the Jewish people. They did
not have to follow the thousands of laws by which man has brought order into
our society. They had only one rule – one tree from which they could not eat.
How many trees were there in the Garden of
Eden? How many different kinds of fruit were there from which they could
choose? Perhaps there were dozens – maybe hundreds – maybe even thousands. And
all of them were theirs for the taking without restriction. Only one tree was forbidden
to them.
Yet, they could not take their eyes off the
one tree that was forbidden. They could not say “no” to the temptation that was
set before them by the serpent. Eve, and then Adam, gave in and broke the one
law God had made in their Eden.
And from that day to this, the forbidden has
had a strong attraction for all mankind. Even today there are so many things
that we can freely do and enjoy without restriction. Yes, there are more laws
than just the one that we’ve been commanded to follow. But even with those
restrictions there are still so many choices that are ours without guilt. Still
we are drawn to the forbidden – and often choose it.
Take a moment today to consider all the
choices that are before you for which there are no restrictions from God. Rejoice
in those choices and the awesome freedom we enjoy. Resolve anew today to say
“no” to the forbidden.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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