Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Empty and Full (06/04/09)
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TITLE: As Wise as Fools | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Boback
06/08/09 -
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“Eve, darling, I cannot possibly look at another piece of fruit. I am full from dinner, so full and satisfied. I have nowhere to put another morsel!”
“But Adam, you don’t understand! The serpent is talking to me. He is saying if we eat of this tree we will become as wise as God. I know he is right, Adam, for there is no other fruit as ripe or as appealing as this.”
Recognizing the tree she is referring to, Adam says, “Woman, what are you saying? You know we have been warned by God not to eat of that tree or we will surely die! Come away, Eve, and do not be tempted.”
“Adam, do you really think we will die if we eat of that fruit? If the fruit were poisonous, no birds would go near this tree, but you see that they have built their nest in it. Do you not desire to be full of God’s wisdom? Should we have to ask Him everything before we can decide things for ourselves? If we were as wise as He, we would not have to bother Him day and night with questions. I’m sure He would appreciate more free time without us calling on Him for every little detail of our lives!”
The beautiful, beguiling serpent was a convincing tool. Adam and Eve never asked themselves whether or not to believe him. Their eyes saw how pleasing he looked in his vast array of vibrant colors and the confidence of his demeanor. One of the most beautiful of all of God’s creations in this garden, the serpent certainly would be an unlikely deceiver!
“God is testing us, Adam. He wants to see how independent we can be without asking Him for everything. Can’t you see that this is just a test? He would keep nothing good from us. That tree is to help us to become wise. He wants us to have His wisdom, to be filled to overflowing with it. God must be using the beautiful serpent to help us make the right choice about this tree!”
Adam hesitates momentarily. He hears the Lord’s voice saying, “If you eat of this tree, you will surely die.” Then his own voice speaks to his mind saying, “But God is a God of love. Eve is right, of course. God would never bring death for eating of this tree. He would want us to be as wise as He. He is testing the wisdom already in us, to see if we want all of it.” Adam smiles at the serpent, vowing to thank him appropriately when he becomes as wise as God.
Nodding approval to Eve, she picks the fruit happily, eating and giving some to Adam. The serpent laughs out loud as they eat, an evil laugh that makes the fruit taste bitter going down. They eat, filling their already bulging stomachs. With each bite, they wait to feel spiritually “full” of God’s wisdom.
Instead, with each bite they feel more and more empty. They suddenly realize they are naked, and for the first time their nakedness makes them feel ashamed. They must hide! They must cover themselves! They are empty and afraid for the first time since their creation! What had they done?
Just as God’s Word says, Adam and Eve “professed themselves to be wise, and became fools.”
They wanted the wisdom of God. Through self-deception, they became fools, emptying themselves through their own rebellious, independent act of all the wisdom that was already theirs!
If only Adam would have realized that without obedience there is no wisdom. If only Eve would have remembered that she was already full of all that God had for her, and there was no emptiness within her.
God had warned them. He cannot lie. Their death began that day, physical death as we know it.
The serpent? No longer upright, he now crawls on the ground. Men know the danger that he represents, and despise and fear him. He has been cursed for his part in the deception of man.
Oh, but God had a plan in place when man fell. Through salvation, our “old Adam” is empty and dead. Our “new Adam” is full of life through Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!
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