Act Three-Paradise Lost
There was a chill in the air, so hot chocolate and hot tea awaited our guests...
as did Moses beside a warm fire...
and my man!
Moses climbed up in a chair beside me,,,
to chat while we awaited a group of high school girls. Yes, it seemed like Paradise.
The Garden of Eden was paradise! Yet, in that garden lurked evil in the form of a crafty serpent. A serpent who knew how to slither doubt and deception into the minds of Adam and Eve. He hasn't stopped slithering. Have you heard him planting questions in your mind lately?
"Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'...Surely, you will not die...your eyes will be open."
I heard him just yesterday...he tried to convince me that food, a vacation and some new things for the house would bring me comfort. He led me to believe there might be problems in a friendship, because I had not heard from my friend for a couple weeks. He tried to stir up strife between my husband and me over chores we needed to accomplish, which were robbing our time together....but fortunately we've learned to recognize his traps and kissed him away. Yes, Satan is still at work.
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.
Genesis 3:1-6
Remember who Satan was...the beautiful, glorious, mighty Lucifer...captain of the Lord's armies, who had been tossed out of heaven. Listen to what Eldredge writes about him.
"Banished but not destroyed, he waited in the shadows for an opportunity to take his revenge. You must understand: the Evil One hates God, hates anything that reminds him of the glory of God ...wherever it exists. Unable to overthrow the Mighty One, he turned his sights on those who bore his image. Satan came...and whispered...'You cannot trust the heart of God...he's holding out on you...you've got to take matters under your control.' He sowed the seed of mistrust in our hearts; he tempted us to seize control. It's the same lie he is using in your life today, by the way: 'Trusting God is way too risky. You're far too vulnerable. Rewrite the Story. Give yourself a better part. Arrange for your own happiness. Disregard him.'....And at that moment something in our hearts shifted. We reached, and in our reaching we fell from grace."
We know this world isn't paradise. We know evil crops up in our very own hearts and our thoughts and actions disappoint our loving God. We want to hide from God as Adam and Eve did. We know we need to be rescued. To be continued...
