In The Garden

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 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 of it you will surely die.’” Gen. 2:15-17; “…but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden…’” Gen. 3:3.

God was crystal clear about His instructions to both Adam and Eve. They both heard straight from God’s mouth ‘Do not eat that particular fruit off that particular tree in that particular spot.’ How much clearer could God have been with the pair? He had given them a beautiful garden with abundance and full access to 99% of its offerings. It was that 1% that became the hook…the lure…the focus.

On any given day we all are walking through our gardens for which God has given us. God builds our lives in a way that forms a garden for which we must care. It is a life full of abundance and blessing when we focus on the Creator of our lives. It is a life that produces delicious fruit for both our soul and spirit. Every garden God plants will possess a forbidden fruit to help grow us and discipline us. It will tempt our appetite in some manner luring us and calling to us providing a hope for a better life. The more we focus on that 1% the juicier it looks and we develop an irresistible urge to take a bite. That bite will set in motion our spiritual nakedness and send us down a path in our garden that will become a painful detour. ‘The tree of the knowledge of good and evil provided a test of man’s obedience. The only reason it was wrong to eat of that fruit was because God had said so. In different forms, that fruit is still with us today.’ Believer’s Bible Commentary, p. 34.

Forbidden fruit is in everyone’s life. For some it is alcohol or drugs, for others it is spending. God makes it crystal clear in each of our lives what forbidden fruit stands in the midst of our gardens. If we will feed upon the fruit of His word we stand a better chance against reaching for that fruit.

God gave us all a wonderful garden in Him… ‘work it and take care of it!’