“And the Lord planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground, the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” (Genesis 2:8, 9)
Yesterday our story started “In the beginning…” where we learned an essential truth to understanding the rest of the story…we are made by God. He is the Author and Creator of our story. We did not just stumble into God’s story by accident. He intentionally created us for this. We are not just some secondary characters in this world. We are not just “extras” in God’s movie. This is our story!
Another truth that we find at the beginning of our story is that the God who made us takes care of us. The Scripture today reveals that He made a beautiful place for us and provided all that we needed. This is also essential in understanding everything that follows…our God is the God who provides all that we need! Later David says,
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:1, 2).
We will find that this is consistent throughout our whole story from beginning to end…God provides. He is described not only as the Good Shepherd, but also the Loving Father, the Tender Gardener…”our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1). The Author of our story never leaves us hanging. He is the Hero of our story!
Yes, God loves us and His desire is for us to love Him and enjoy fellowship with Him. He provides everything needed to make that happen…including a choice. For love to be genuine there needs to be the freedom to respond or not respond to this One who loves us. Therefore, we find that God provides a choice.
“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but…” (Genesis 2:16)
What? A small tweak to this wonderful story…a decision to be made. The rest is, as they say, history. As the readers of this story we see it coming a mile away. It’s an accident waiting to happen. We are sitting in the theater shouting at the screen, “Don’t do it!” “It’s a TRAP!” How could our “loving” God sabotage us like this? What possible good could come out of this?
It is a question asked since the beginning, but answered over and over throughout the story. God so loved us that He gave us the freedom to believe Him or not…to follow or not…to love Him or not. Choice is a key ingredient to Love. It is a matter of trust in our Maker. It is believing that He has our back and that He would never steer us wrong. The Bible calls this “faith”. The temptation of Adam and Eve was to not trust God…not believe Him…to not have “faith” in Him.
“Did God actually say…“, said the serpent, “God is not interested in your well-being. He is holding you back.” They chose to believe the lie and our story takes an unfortunate turn. We have broken fellowship with the very One who created us and cared for us. We find ourselves outside the garden…cold and alone…longing for the warmth we enjoyed before. We want to come home but we are lost and can’t find our way back.
Wait! It’s just getting started. The rest of this wonderful story tells us how our Father came after us to restore what was lost. Although we did not trust Him, He has not stopped loving us. He has pursued us from the “beginning” and still does today.
Maybe you are doubting today. You are struggling with trust. Your faith seems fragile at best. Know this…the One who created you loves you and has made a way for you to come back.
This is your story.