Love That Never Fails

5. Free Will

Have you ever watched a small child heading straight for the very thing they were told not to touch? They seem attracted to it like metal is drawn to a magnet! While the parent seems like a killjoy, having rules ensures the child is kept safe. The parent knows what is best and of course we see this lovingly portrayed in our Heavenly Father who obviously knew what was best for those He created —He had a perfect plan to keep Adam and Eve safe. Of all the wonderful things they could eat in the garden, there was just one tree that they were told they must not touch!

"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'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " "You will not certainly die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.""
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:1-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I'm sure we can all relate to the pull of temptation when it comes to various food that we know we shouldn't eat. There can be a fridge full of vegetables but the bar of chocolate is calling our name! In this case though, there was so much to lose in disobeying God —it wasn't just a case of an overload of sugar!

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:5-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Consequences of disobedience followed and the saddest of all was that Adam and Eve suddenly felt ashamed and wanted to hide from God. Prior to this, they had enjoyed talking with Him as they explored the Garden but their sin had changed that!

"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate.""
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:8-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God knew what had happened but needed Adam and Eve to admit their mistake. Notice how Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. We can tend to play the same blame game when we have made mistakes!

Sadly, this was just the beginning of sin in the perfect world God had created. You see, He had lovingly made His people with a free will to make choices —they were not like robots! Having chosen to disobey,  Adam and Eve were banished from the beautiful Garden of Eden and from that time on,  Adam would have to work hard in order to eat from the land, while Eve would suffer much pain in child birth. However, God still loved them, just as parents still love their disobedient children!

Reading on in Genesis 3, we see:

"The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them."
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It's very significant that God makes these items of clothing from animal skins so Adam and Eve could cover their shame, replacing their temporary fig leaf coverings! This of course would have required the death of an animal and the shedding of blood.  As we continue to explore God's love that never fails, we will eventually read of an ultimate sacrifice of life for all of us, a sacrifice that takes away the sin and shame of the whole world!

Let's Pray:

Dear Lord,

Thank You for loving me despite the fact that I continue to think, say and do the wrong thing. As I consider what went wrong in the Garden of Eden, I realise that when faced with the same temptation, I would most likely have fallen too! Thank You for making a way so that my sins could be dealt with once and for all!

Thank You that I can see Your love written into this recount of events. While there were consequences, You didn't totally abandon Your relationship with mankind. Things would be different for Adam and Eve in a world now plagued by sin but You had the greatest rescue mission planned! I'm excited to be able to read all about it as I continue to look at Your Word each day.

I am so blessed to have Your covering for my shame through the death of Jesus and His blood that was shed for my sins on the Cross.

Amen.