Trust

It must be acknowledged that the world would look completely different if Adam and Eve would have never eaten from the forbidden tree.  Our concept of work would be completely different.  Women, a sin free world means no more child labor pains.  Men, the world wouldn’t be fighting back when we would go out and subdue it.  Some people think we would be able to talk with animals.  We would never die, and would share in an intimacy with God so deep that it’s we can’t even put words to how close that relationship would be.

So let’s take a deeper look at the story:

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had                                                          made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."

First off, we have to note that Eve, first and foremost is a little off base.  We know God told Adam that he is not to eat from the tree.  God may have told Eve this too, or he may have trusted Adam to relay this message to his wife.  Nevertheless, Eve believes that if she touches the tree she will die, but that isn’t what God actually said.

Somewhere along the lines, God’s word was twisted.  Adam may have had good intentions… He may have added that little bit in as an extra precaution to keep the law.  He knew he wasn’t supposed to eat from the tree, so he told his wife, “babe, don’t eat from it.  In fact, don’t touch it.  Check that, don’t even look at it, actually don’t even think about it.”  But that isn’t what God actually said.

What happened here was a lot like what the Pharisees had done.  They started out with good intentions too.  They saw the actions of their friends heading down a road that would lead to actions that God wouldn’t approve on.  So when told “not to work on the Sabbath”, they added all kinds of extra rules to prevent any work from being done.  You could only walk so far, you could only do this much, you can’t do this, you have to do this, you can’t do this, ect.  But that isn’t what God actually said.

And when Jesus came, part of his mission was showing us how to live a life that pleases God – yet many of his actions seemed offensive to the Pharisees.  The Pharisees in Jesus time didn’t come up with all of these rules – their ancestors made most of them – but they still play by them, they still enforce them, they still expect everyone who is a “good Jew” to play by them too.  Jesus didn’t always play by their rules.  He went by what God actually said.

We’re just as guilty as Adam, and we’re just as guilty as the Pharisees.  We make “rules” about alcohol, we setup systems for “proper Christian dating”, we make up all kinds of laws to live by that are supposed to bring us closer to God, but often times we don’t know what he actually says about the topic.

If we take Eve’s example, the door for temptation is open wide when we aren’t sure of what God says.  Sin came into the world because she wasn’t certain of what humans were told.  The serpent was partly right; Eve wouldn’t die if she touched the tree.  And if she believes that laying a hand on the tree will kill her, and she touches it and lives, it opens up the door for her to loose trust in everything she believe God has said.

Yes, if you are under 21, or have an addiction to alcohol and are going through a treatment program it probably isn’t a good idea for you to go to a bar.  As a Christian I need to support you in your decision, no matter the cause, to set those standards for yourself – and as a Christian I need to know that you also have the ability to responsibly enjoy a beer every now and then. 

But like Adam and the Pharisees we have the tendency to set up these rules for ourselves and others, not recognizing the gifts we are missing out on.  What if the tree of knowledge of good and evil was the coolest tree ever? The best tree for climbing, the best tree for building the best tree house in, the best tree to lay in the shade under?  Should we build a brick wall around it and miss out on the coolest tree ever, so we can’t eat from it’s fruit?  Should we make all kinds of laws about the Sabbath, the gift God gave us to rest and glorify him, and make it about us and what we can and can’t do?  Absolutely not! 

We need to start learning what God actually says about things.  We need to know his thoughts on things – and that might take some work and effort.  We have to read his word.  We must seek his spirit through prayer.  What are those brick walls in your life?  What rules have you added to your routine that twist what God said?