Gen. 2: 9,16-17. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Gen. 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’?”
Gen. 3:6 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.
Gen. 3:11 And [God] said, “…Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
Have you ever watched yourself or other riders do something you know is wrong? Something mean, something dangerous, something illegal, or something that damages the resort’s property or reputation? Where does this sense of “wrong” come from? What makes you feel like you or they shouldn’t have done it?
Many people ask, “How could there be a good God when he allows all kinds of bad stuff to happen?!” Many riders display an attitude that life is cruel because they’ve experienced the cruelty of brokenness. Broken promises, parent divorce, broken boards or bones. This leads them to doubt that there could be anything that goes right or good in the world. Even when there is, it often feels temporary.
We recognize right and wrong because our human race has eaten from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”—and therefore is dying, just as God warned us. Jesus is the “tree of life.” If he feeds our life, we have hope that He will make things right.
But the wrong we feel in the world couldn’t be wrong unless there’s some big right that we’re somehow missing. If we’re just molecules randomly evolving in an eternity of space, then why does anything feel wrong? Because we’re not random molecules. There is a right. There is a good. According to the Bible, our race has eaten from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” And, because of it, we experience brokenness and death—and that wasn’t supposed to happen. Something deep inside us recognizes wrong when we see it. But, there’s also something deep inside us that wants to see things made right and good. This recognition of wrong and deep longing for right should point us to Jesus.
Jesus was God’s son sent to make things right. In the language of the Bible, Jesus represents the “tree of life.” If we get a taste of Jesus in our life, we can see that He was sent to fix what was broken—both in us and in the world. He was sent to bring life and restore us to God who is right and good. The world recognizes evil. Sometimes even blames God for it. Jesus is God’s fixer. Jesus is our source of life. The Bible, and the people who follow it, invite us to, “taste and see that the Lord it good.” Psalm 34:8 Have you given Jesus a try?
Challenge
Where have you experienced wrong or bad stuff in your life?
Where have you experienced right or good stuff in your life?
Have you ever had a personal experience with Jesus that makes you think he wants to make things right? If not, would you be interested?
By Jim Heethuis | Byron Center, MI