Gardern Gone?

“Then the Lord God said ‘Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever! So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed the mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden and he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” [Gen. 3:22-24(NLT)]

In this passage God has punished Adam and Eve for their sin. As well as exposing them to pain and making them mortal, he ultimately removed them from the Garden of Eden.

When I was not a Christian, I would often use this passage to explain why “God doesn’t love us” I mean it’s so contradicting to say God loves us and wants us to live forever when he put us out of paradise and locked away the tree! If he loved us so much then why didn’t he just forgive- as he likes to do so much- and let ‘em stay? To be frank, I was seeing through the eyes of an ungrateful child.

It says in proverbs, “Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.” [Prov. 13:24(NLT)] Nine times out of ten whenever a mother or a father let’s their child get away with wrong doing, the child will do it again. God is our father, and we are his children. God gave us freewill for a reason. So if Adam and Eve got off Scott Free, who’s to say they wouldn’t eat more of the bad fruit?

“But wait! Is there still a contradiction here? I’m not Adam and I’m not Eve. So why did I have to be CUT OFF from the tree of life?”

God never contradicts himself. , Just because man no longer resides in Paradise does not mean we are condemned here in this world consumed by evil. He has not cut us off. For God has said “What if they REACH OUT, and take fruit from the tree of life? Then they will live forever!”

Christians, we all at some point in our lives feel that god might have left us...that he has cut us off. Rest assured he has not and he never will. Ever since we’ve known about evil, God has been rooting for us to OVERCOME IT! That’s why he sent Abraham, that’s why he sent Moses, That’s why he sent his son JESUS!

Even in your darkest hour, God is near. All you have to do is bow your head, close you eyes and REACH OUT.

May the Lord’s guidance be with you all,