A TREE AND A TREE
For some time I've been wondering about the fascination of the word "evil" for a person who would have no understanding of it.
(Genesis 3:5) Satan said to Eve, "You will be as God knowing good and evil." What did the word "evil" suggest to Eve? She lived in a perfect world. There was no reason for her to ever have had any concept of the word "evil". How would she know what it meant? There had been no evil, no calamity, no wickedness in her experience. She was as much like God as it is possible for a creature to be and had known nothing but good. Eve had just told the first lie in human history. (Genesis 3:3 you shall not touch it).
What terrible undoing happened in her as she spoke the first false words in the perfection of Paradise? What happened to make the wise, loving, providential good seen restraining and the knowledge of evil desirable - entrancing? The first lie, spoken to the father of lies, a lie about God's Word concerning a tree, opened the floodgates for the destruction of Paradise. Was it all over ..... lost forever?
There was another Tree, a Tree of death and Truth Himself came to die upon that Tree. He came to take upon Himself not only the sin of all the lies, deceptions, perversions which have defiled mankind through all the centuries, but to bear in Himself all the furious wrath of outraged Holiness, all the terrible consequences of Truth betrayed.
The Christ of Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, is our only hope of the glory of being restored to the Divine image, and, thank God, our promised destiny is full restoration (Romans 8:30). While we're still on earth the process is going on (2 Corinthians 3:18) as we are constantly being transfigured in ever increasing splendour. There is great joy in living in Truth (3 Jn 4) which is simply abiding in Jesus. Let the glory and the wonder bathe our souls in delight. We are indeed a new creation through whom our Creator actually demonstrates His moral character. Happy, glorious Easter!
In Christ we have risen to a brand new quality of life. Worthy is the Lamb to receive the reward of His sufferings, His full inheritance in the saints. That day is soon coming when He will finally receive His reward which is our full, complete restoration to the image of God.
Again I say, HAPPY, GLORIOUS EASTER!
With love & prayers,