Brokenness began with but a simple command, "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." There was nothing to misunderstand. God had spoken in black and white, in a time when there were no shades of gray.
But then came the seduction. The fruit was alluring. The serpent assured they wouldn’t die. And who wouldn’t want to be like God? Usually we chalk it up to a simple case of disobedience. God told them one thing, they did another. But more than a sin of rebellion, it may have most essentially been an issue of unbelief. In the light of all that seduced them, they lost their trust. In that moment when they reached out to grasp the forbidden fruit, they no longer believed God knew best and had their best interests at heart.
God has been clear on many things; sex is His gift to the marriage covenant; forgiveness must never be withheld; pornography will never satisfy (because it hasn't the capacity to); our lives are not measured by what we have or by how high we climb (these can’t satisfy either). There's an old saying, 'Curiosity killed the cat.' The cat just had to know for himself. He couldn't trust that what had been forbidden was done so for his own good. There are times when the root of sin is old fashioned rebellion. At other times, sin's origin lies in unbelief; we stop trusting God.
It’s interesting to me that it was when Abraham believed the Lord, righteousness was imparted. God brought things full circle. Though the context was completely different, the Lord offered Abraham the same essential choice He did Adam and Eve, ‘Will you trust Me?’ Trust abandoned first broke the relationship. Trust embraced renewed it.
Still today God has made trust the catalyst for our relationship with Him. Ro11 makes clear faith grafts in, unbelief cuts off. Faith is what activates Grace. It’s what is credited to us as righteousness. Not just an idle belief in a creed. But, a trust that actually inspires one to embrace Jesus as Savior and Lord; to obey, if only because God says so; to leave behind everything the world values to pursue what only God could have birthed in the heart. Some things never change.
But then came the seduction. The fruit was alluring. The serpent assured they wouldn’t die. And who wouldn’t want to be like God? Usually we chalk it up to a simple case of disobedience. God told them one thing, they did another. But more than a sin of rebellion, it may have most essentially been an issue of unbelief. In the light of all that seduced them, they lost their trust. In that moment when they reached out to grasp the forbidden fruit, they no longer believed God knew best and had their best interests at heart.
God has been clear on many things; sex is His gift to the marriage covenant; forgiveness must never be withheld; pornography will never satisfy (because it hasn't the capacity to); our lives are not measured by what we have or by how high we climb (these can’t satisfy either). There's an old saying, 'Curiosity killed the cat.' The cat just had to know for himself. He couldn't trust that what had been forbidden was done so for his own good. There are times when the root of sin is old fashioned rebellion. At other times, sin's origin lies in unbelief; we stop trusting God.
It’s interesting to me that it was when Abraham believed the Lord, righteousness was imparted. God brought things full circle. Though the context was completely different, the Lord offered Abraham the same essential choice He did Adam and Eve, ‘Will you trust Me?’ Trust abandoned first broke the relationship. Trust embraced renewed it.
Still today God has made trust the catalyst for our relationship with Him. Ro11 makes clear faith grafts in, unbelief cuts off. Faith is what activates Grace. It’s what is credited to us as righteousness. Not just an idle belief in a creed. But, a trust that actually inspires one to embrace Jesus as Savior and Lord; to obey, if only because God says so; to leave behind everything the world values to pursue what only God could have birthed in the heart. Some things never change.
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