So there they stood, Adam and Eve, naked as always but noticing it for the first time. Hearing the noise of God walking through the garden they fled to take cover and make coverings. Eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil definitely altered things, but which things?
In my last blog we looked at the fact that shame was introduced…
judgment was introduced…
fear was introduced…
sight was introduced…
Likewise, I believe comparison was introduced among a number of other things. However, I want to dig a bit deeper. All of the above were just facets of something much larger that was introduced…
Before they ate of that tree they didn't even have the simplest knowledge of shame, judgment, fear or comparison. However, after eating, they now had an overwhelming flood of things that they saw that needed to be balanced and corrected. Immediately they started evaluating their entire surroundings including themselves through the lens of:
What is Good?
What is evil?
What is right?
What is wrong?
Without even realizing it, they started to assess and determine a structure for what should and shouldn't be done based on these criteria.
It's amazing to me how many generations have come and gone and we've still missed the point of this. It's amazing how many hours I've spent talking about "bible" things and missed something that I innately knew…
Adam and Eve sinned in the garden but their sin had far less to do with them breaking a rule than it did with them breaking trust…honor…faith…RELATIONSHIP!
Yet here we are today and much of the church still thinks the bible is about the do's and the don'ts…We still are fighting to gain more discernment between good and evil in our lives so that we can make better choices…We think that the more knowledge we have will lead to more righteous living…and then we think that righteousness comes through obedience.
Seriously think about!!! Adam and Eve didn't know those measurements because all they knew was a right relationship…those things didn't matter because He loved them and they believed Him. In their desire to know and be known they chose to break relationship to gain a set of rules to live by.
Can you tell me that you don't live by the standards introduced by Adam and Eve?
Can you honestly tell me that you live in a relationship with Him that doesn't break trust…honor…faith?
Do you believe that's even possible?
If not, may God completely overwhelm you with His delight.
If so, how do we get there?
Well…I'd go back to the beginning.
Like Adam and Eve we've been given a choice.
Their initial choice had to do with what tree they were going to eat from.
One tree produced life.
The other produced death.
I'd suggest that for thousands of years we've been asking the wrong questions.
Instead of asking if this is the right thing to do or the wrong thing…
Instead of choosing based on what is good and what is evil…
What would happen if we asked ourselves…
Does this choice bring more life?
Does this choice bring more death?
He came that we may live life abundant and that's hard to do while living in a paradigm that leads to death…
to be continued…
