His love vs. his lies


(A reflection on Genesis 3)

Full of lies is he. Yes, he, that old serpent, the devil.

Run away!

Serpent: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall NOT EAT of any tree of the garden? “(‭Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ ASV).
God: “of every tree…you may freely eat.”

I am glad to read that Eve was ready to disprove Satan’s lies with the truth. However, knowing the truth and explicating it are not enough. Satan hit her with more lies, and this time it is with, “eat… ye shall not surely die…ye shall be as gods….” So Eve, standing there, “saw” the fruit. It was”pleasant to the eyes,” and a tree to be desired of.

How many times do we, like her, instead of stepping out of a fierce temptation choose to stay and splurge into silver lining thinking “I can surpass this,” “I am still safe,” “This won’t bring me down”?

Beloved, that is like feeding our senses with many reasons to make us more vulnerable to fall. This is a very important lesson for you and me today. Yes, God promised us that He will not bring us into trials that we can’t bear but man, oh man, we must participate well in the process!

The old Filipino saying goes, “nasa Dios ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa,” and it perfectly sums up our “should be” response to temptations. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, we must do something. We must act and not let the devices of the devil make us sink more and more. We must run! Run away! Run far! Draw near to God that He may draw near to us. Resist the devil and he will flee from us!

Walk with someone who can pull you out of danger

Adam was not by her side during those times. What happened? There is a gem for keeps right there. Walk with someone who can pull you out of danger when it happens, as it happens.

I am convinced that Adam could have done something. He could have whispered to Eve to remind her of God’s commands to them. Adam could have simply taken Eve away from that tree to cut the conversation with the serpent and bring her far from whatever that will amplify the temptation. But the story has gone and now been told, Adam gave in. “He did eat.” (Genesis 3:6)

God of ‘second chances’

The Lord is an all-knowing, all-seeing God. Of course He could have just come down and said to our first parents, “Go out from the garden, I don’t need you here, you disobedient people.” No. I can imagine Satan doing that if he was the god but no, NOT MY GOD! The God I know is a God of second chances, even of third, fourth, fifth and so on.

He loves us so much that where we lack, His grace and mercy abounds. In Genesis 3:9, we read, God talked to Adam first, being the head of His creations. And He gave him a chance to explain His position, the same was given to Eve.

The Lord knows the truth. He knows what had just happened. He need not ask, but He did. Why? It is because of His love for man. Like a father to a child, He stooped down and talked to Adam and Eve to hear their side of things. But instead of accepting their mistakes and asking for forgiveness right at that moment, our parents tried to rationalize things and found fault in others, and in doing so, unknowingly pointed back to God.

Death is even a blessing

He could have waived the punishments, but He is the God of truth and justice. And because His love never fails, God has to execute the consequences. Dust as food for the serpent can’t be more worse. Sorrows, thorns and thistles, toil and sweat for man and woman.

God’s original plan is for His creatures to live eternally without sickness and other curses. God gave Adam and Eve access to that tree of life. But because of sin, He needs to put an end to miserable, cursed human life. Do you still see God’s love in it? I do! I cannot imagine humans living forever and ever in this ugly, sin-marred world. And for that, we still praise the Lord.

“He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” (‭Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭24‬ ESV)

Satan promised that we will become gods. God knows he is lying and that we will fall on Satan’s lies, He already offered a solution.

To whom you will believe in?

Soli Deo gloria!