Imagine with me the story of Adam and Eve. God creates the world in all its beauty. The waters are full of sea life, the land is full of majestic creatures. The stars and planets are in motion and the tide is crashing beautifully onto the shore. Then, God makes man. Just one guy to watch over all of God's creation. Adam has been given a very important task. All these animals around you, it is your job to name them. From the smallest of bugs to the largest of mammals, give them whatever name you see fit. So Adam proceeds to name them all. I'll call you a hedgehog, and you a platypus and you, I'll call you a snow leopard. Not sure what snow is, but whatever lets go with it. As he is naming them, God realizes that the birds of the air and the fish of the sea all have a partner, and man shall not be alone. So God puts Adam into a deep sleep, pulls a rib out of his side and out of it, forms Eve. In the eyes of Adam, Eve is the most beautiful thing in God's creation. Together they finish giving names to the animals. Unfortunately, not all the creatures are good mannered things. The serpent is crafty and apparently able to communicate using words. He slithers over to Eve and begins twisting the words of God. In the garden, among all the others plants and trees, God made the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. He tells Adam and Eve, everything in the garden, you may eat from, except from these two trees. For if you eat of these, you will die. Alright, that sounds doable. The garden is filled with good plants and delectable fruits and vegetables. Why do we need to bother about 2 trees. We are not given a time-frame of how long they were in the garden, but I would like to think they were there a little while. They had a perfect life. No work, just them and God walking peacefully in the Garden that He made. Every animal on the earth living in harmony as your own pet. But, the serpent isn't happy with this arrangement. He uses his craftiness to get into the woman's head. "Did God really say you will die? No, you will not die. God doesn't want you to eat it because when you do you will be like him. Go on. One bite won't hurt." So Eve takes a bite and out of everything in the garden, it is the best thing she has ever tasted. She proceeds to take it to Adam and tells him to taste it. He takes a bite and instantly they are filled with all knowledge and realize they are naked. So, out of fear and embarrassment, they hid. From the God who sees and hears all, they thought they could elude his sight behind some bushes. but of course, God is the master of hide and seek, and he found them. When they were asked what they were doing, it wasn't long before fingers were being pointed and the truth had come out. Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden of perfection into a desolate and barren land where they were forced to work the ground for food. Adam and Eve had everything they could have ever wanted, but they went after the one thing they could not and it cost them everything in return. To think their lives started out in life and ended because of one mistake. One mess-up that cost them their lives. The fact is, it wasn't hard to stay in the garden, because the garden had everything they needed. The hard part came when they got too curious about what they had no business in. Satan continues to use this strategy against God's people. He will twist the words of God and show them things they don't need, but show them in a way that looks enticing. Unfortunately, it doesn't take much for the average christian to stray. One look is all it takes to go down a path that is not good. We must prepare ourselves to be ready to look away from the things that are calling for our focus, and keep our eyes on God. For when our eyes are looking intentionally at the Father. nothing can redirect our focus unto something of evil intent. Keep focused, and God will protect you from the attacks of the enemy.
Adam Semple- a Young Man on a Mission From God
*photo credit- mysoulpurpose.org
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