The SONshine Garden Spreading SONshine Through Words of Life |
Lessons From A Garden They found a stick and returned the snake to the lake. It was a cottonmouth water mocassin, a lethal serpent; and I had been inches from calamity! Adam and Eve basked in an idyllic environment in the Garden of Eden. They lived on proving ground; and the abundance of earth belonged to them. The serpent was not deadly or Eve would have been cautious. In fact, the scenario for the drama indicated that Eve was so comfortable and friendly with this smart creature that she succumbed to its vily words. What lessons can modern man , particularly a believing Christian, learn from the events in the Garden of Eden and the Edenic pair? There are six principles for consideration. 1. God is gracious. When Adam and Eve disregarded the command concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were not simply obedient. They violated the following laws: (a) They had other gods before God, the Creator. Eve allowed the words of the creature to supercede those of the Lord God.. (b) When they sinned, they became servants of sin. The disguised serpent was the archdeceiver, Lucifer. (c) Removing the fruit without permission from God was stealing. They knew He did not want them to touch or eat it; so they violated His will. (d) Eve coveted the fruit. She desired it so much that the words of God became insignificant to her lust. (e) The fruit contained death. Eve ate it even though she knew the consequences; and she offered it to Adam. Since he was not deceived, he knew that he was ingesting death. Their action resulted not only in their death but in that of all humanity. Howevr, God is gracious because where sin exists, grace is more abundant. 2 .Authority is essential to victory. God used it for creation. He spoke and it was done. Adam was giver dominion over creation. Whatever he called the creatures, that was their name. The Centurion told Jesus not to bother to come to his house. All he had to do was to speak the word and he knew his servant would be healed. Authority is an exercise of faith. Jesus said that faith as small as a gran of mustard seed can do wonders. Before Jesus left, He gave power to His disciples and commanded them to use it. 3. A relationship with God demands righteousness not reasons. God wants man to be available to Him, not to hide from Him. Each person is held accountable by God for each deed and must be judged for them. The fig leaves of works cannot cover the lack of virtue. Only God can provide the garment; and it has to be obtained through blood. Jesus Christ provided the supreme sacrifice as the Kinsman -Redeemer. 4. Death is devastating. It left Adam and Eve and all of mankind disrobed, disconnected, disgruntled, disillussioned, disinherited, disobedient and disallowed. The dastardly deed, sin, blazed a trail of eternal enmity. God will forever hate sin; but He has an everlasting love for sinners who repent and believe on Him. 5. Every good and perfect gift comes from God. It is because of His compassion that man is not consumed. Anything that is needed, God is willing to provide. He will not withhold anything good from those who walk in the path of righteousness. 6. Nothing is to stand between God and man. It is not possible to serve the Creator and His creation. One has to be the master. Jesus says to make Him the priority and everything that is needed will be added. Those who have light are expected to shine.The Son provides light, so walk in SONshine. |
