Choose #2

 

 

God, desiring a loving relationship with men and women gave them the precious ability to choose. It is only as that choice is made that men and women can love and trust God. This eternal choice first made in the Garden of Eden is more fundamental than the choice between good and evil. This choice rather is the choice to either trust God and the life that He has provided or choose to be one’s own judge. In taking from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil Adam and Eve were saying they wanted to be god and they wanted to judge for themselves that which is good and that which is evil. Consequently as they entered into judgment they were placed under judgment and on that day they died to the life of God.

The essence of this choice is to exchange the truth of God for a lie. [1](see Romans 1:18-25) This choice is made because of a distorted view that Satan portrays of God. Satan planted the seed in Adam and Eve’s mind that God could not be trusted. Look at Genesis 3:1  “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’?”^[2] Satan is a liar. He is out to kill steal and destroy (John 10:10). Look how he plants the seed of doubt about God. ^‍4‍ “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.  ^‍5‍ “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ^[3] (vs 4-5) Do you see this? The serpent is twisting this. He is inferring that God is withholding things from Adam and Eve. He is trying to scare them so that they will not be able to know what God knows. Satan is moving men and women to the place where they will judge God.

The beginning of all sin- the origin of all that is less than loving- is a judgment about God. The subtlety of the temptation does not lessen the impact of men and women who have a distorted view of God. Anytime we embrace a picture of God that is less full of life, less glorious, less gracious than God truly is we die to what live and love truly is. And in this adamic view we die.

When our picture of God is distorted we can no longer trust God to be our source of life and love. It is impossible to live in God’s love if you don’t believe that God is love. God is love. [4]It is the very essence of His nature. God doesn’t have to put on love because love emanates from His character. God cannot act in any other way towards you than to love. To do so would deny His very existence.

What is happening here is Satan is convincing Adam and Eve that they were lacking something good, and God was holding out on them. When men and women don’t trust God they turn to other things to find life and love. This is the essence of idolatry and sin. This disintegration of trust leads to separation from God and ultimately to sin.

Separation from God is death. Living in judgment is death.

I want to be a little more plain spoken here. What happened is the snake got Adam and Eve to believe that God was not good, that He was not love that He was not interested in their best. Adam and Eve then decided to look out for themselves and be their own judges… their own God. When they did they were separated from true love and life. Truthfully we all do this. We come to a rough spot where God or life is not acting according to our script and so we become judges of God himself. We too think He is holding out on us or something. He’s just testing us for His own warped satisfaction. When we ‘go there’ we have fallen to the deception of the serpent. When we are there we go to find something or someone that will love and approve of us. We begin to fashion for ourselves gods that will make us feel love. The truth is these gods are not capable of loving and giving life.

It is also not enough for us to do something to earn this love and acceptance that we so crave. If we can earn love, then basically we are buying it and we are in control and we are god. Love should super cede performance. Love is a gift. It cannot be earned or it becomes a payment.

Man’s problem today is that we do not truly believe that God is love.

This lie about God was demolished by the exact representation of God, Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-3) Jesus is the one and only image and Word of God (Col 1:15, John 1:1, 2 Cor 4:4-6, John 14:7) And Jesus made God known to man (John 1:8). Jesus is the essence of the revelation of Moses. He is the wisdom of God revealed (1 Cor 1:24). In Him the “whole fullness” of deity dwells bodily (Col 2:9). He is the living concrete embodied picture of God. To see know God you must see Jesus.

For those who would be looking for a messiah. I want you to know that Jesus is much more than a messiah. He is that but the earthly construct of a political messiah misses the essence of what God was doing. God wanted to reveal himself to mankind. So he sent himself in the form of Jesus.

All of our thoughts conclusions or judgments about God ourselves and others must pass through the filter of Jesus. He reveals what God looks like…that is love.

The definitive thing to be said here about God’s character is found here. God dies for sinners on a God-forsaken cross. God allows himself to be crucified for sinners. God’s power and glory are revealed on a cross.

So here we stand today between the trees. One tree is a tree of mistrust and judgment and the other is a tree of love expressed. Which tree will you eat of?

Let me apply this to our lives a little more.

Are you asking God why? Are you asking Him when? Be very careful because in those questions is a seed of judgment. Today look at your situation through Jesus. Can you honestly think that the God who gave himself to die for you would now turn His back on your problem? Would the God who brought all of His wisdom to bear in the one act of the cross now forget about you? The answer of course is a resounding no. And knowing that this God loves, you are free to trust. Knowing that this God loves, you can believe that He heals and provides. Knowing that this God loves, you are able to love. Knowing this God is to know love.