The Terrible Lie - Chpt. 3

Trust.  That is the heart of the story.  Who do I trust?  And will I obey someone, even when I don't fully understand or appreciate their guidance?  If I trust them, I will.  But if I don't trust them, I will obey whatever I do trust instead.  In the end, I can get a sense of who or what my heart is trusting, by observing who I am obeying.
Everything is perfect when the story begins.  Adam and Eve in the garden with the animals and lush plants.  Perfect fellowship with the creation, each other and the Creator.  But then, an enemy appears.  Not to fight or oppose the creatures.  Rather, Satan wants to undermine the character of God in the mind and heart of Adam and Eve.  "Did God really say.  .  .  ."  goes the NIV translation.  "Does God really love you?" is how our storybook renders it.  That is the fear at the depth of our hearts.  Are we loved?  Can we trust Him to act towards us in love?

"God knew if they ate the fruit, they would think they didn't need Him.  And they would try to make themselves happy without Him.  But God knew there was no such thing as happiness without Him, and life without Him wouldn't be life at all."  That says so much, that it's worth repeating, and pondering. This is the lie: We can be happy without God.  "And it would it would live on in every human heart, whispering to every one of God's children" 'God doesn't love me.'"

The Bible would have us believe that this lie is the deepest source of all human misery.  War, injustice, environmental destruction, you name it.  Every expression of selfish depravity throughout history - more than I can name here! - has at its root our turning away from trust in God's love at work and turning to our own fear-driven project of self-security.  I can't trust God for security, identity, love and all the other deep cries of my heart, so I get to work finding them on my own.  Adolf Hitler promised identity for the Aryan people apart from God.  I tried to secure my identity in growing churches.  It took me a while to realize that he and I differed only in magnitude and means of pursuing an end that was rooted in the same heart need.  I didn't plunge Western Civilization into war, but I was looking to secure my personal identity through my own efforts.

So back to the matter of trust.  Eve and Adam would disobey God, because they no longer trusted Him.  The fruit prohibition seems silly and minor - particularly for the proportion of the consequences.  Even, now it seems hard for me to understand why this fruit could be such an issue.

Just like it is hard for me to look at my check book and see why tithing seems to be an issue with God.  Or why sexual intimacy outside of marriage didn't seem to "make sense" to me and my peers while in high school and college.  Come to think of it, there are often a number of things I see in the Bible that "don't make sense to me."

And that can be a critical issue of obedience for us.  If I am willing to "obey" on only matters that I understand, enjoy or see the direct personal benefit fron, then I am not really obeying at all.  I'm just agreeing.  I'm setting my knowledge, judgment or preference at the center of my life and whenever God's precepts happen to intersect with them, then I'm willing to "obey" God.

I have had to learn to follow God's commands even when they don't make sense or appeal to me simply because He is God.  And He knows my needs and the dangers of my life better than I do.  Having been a loving parent of a (OK - three!) inquisitive, vibrant and active two year old helped me see this in a helpful light.  I understood the danger of Drano in a way that my two year old couldn't.  In like manner, God sees a bigger reality than I do.  It comes with His position, you might say.

Now think about this:  You and I are not omniscient or "all knowing."  But if we will simply obey One Who is, we end up living our lives as if we were .  .  .  .?  Go ahead, fill in the blank!

So real obedience comes from trust.  If I don't trust God, in the end, I won't obey Him.  Perhaps I don't trust Him because I don't think He is loving.  Or because I project on Him the untrustworthiness of other key people from my life - like a parent or spouse.  Or because I don't understand they "why" of His command - and do trust my own ability to understand all of life and it's eternal consequences.  Or maybe I just believe, deep in my own heart, that I can be a better god for my own life than He can, or will be. I've found a wide variety of misplace trust - and resulting disobedience - as the light of the Gospel has been shined in the deep recesses of my own heart.

Does it begin to seem futile to trust your own obedience?  Rather than God Himself?

I would hope so.  Because, in the end, there has been only One Who fully trusted God, and hence fully obeyed Him.  The Gospel offers the trust and obedience of that very One as the substitute for our own lack of both. 

That's why the Story did not end as Adam and Eve left the garden.  "One day, He would get His children back."

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In closing, let me remind readers that these postings are connected to weekly readings I am doing from the Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones.  I encourage you to get your own copy of this marvelous retelling of the Bible disguised as a children's story book.  Especially for those adults who are familiar with the stories, I suspect you will find new light on familiar texts.  For myself, that was learning to see all that I had missed in years of study, reading and exegesis.  I needed to learn to read the Bible with "Gospel Eyes."  This has been a great resource for doing that."