The dawn has come and gone on another day as this journey I make. I look into the beautiful First Garden , Eden, with its unmatched beauty, designed by the Master of all landscape architects, the Lord God Himself. How awesome it is as those two perfectly matched persons go about their tasks of maintaining that which God planted. Could anything be more perfect?
Moving through that place of such holiness and beauty, comes the crafty serpent, the host body of the original liar and deceiver. I watch the tempter draw near to Eve with smooth sounding words and he finds his target – the mind of Eve [2 Cor.11:3; 1Ti.2:13-15]. By attacking the human mind, made in the image of God, Satan attacks God. His tactic is to get the mind to doubt God; to question God's Word; to deny what God's Word says and to substitute his own lies for God's truth.
As I watch, I learn – to question God's goodness and love is to play into the hand of Satan: “You will be like God.” And I saw the tragedy: instead of resisting, she yielded. She omitted some of what God said, and added other words. And I watched as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life brought both Adam and Eve down – under the pressures of TEMPTATION.
Unseen perhaps to their eyes, but easily seen by mine is the great black word, CONDEMNATION. Temptation yielded to, produces condemnation. To be tempted is not sin. To yield to it is. I watched and learned some lessons for myself: when tempted, pray to God for help to resist; run from temptation – literally it necessary – flee from the place and person of the tempter; and when I know something is wrong, reply with a resounding “NO!”
From my view of hindsight, I can see the internal effect of condemnation. With the loss of innocence and the ascendance ofguilt, comes fear and shame, carving a place inside to stay forever inside me. Self-defense and blame placed on others is the pierced conscience's way of trying to cover my own guilt.
As I watch and look into the past, I see the external effects of their awful choice. The serpent falls to the ground where it crawls in the dust and dirt. The woman cries out in severe pain on childbirth. The man labors daily against the unending battle against thorns and thistles, useless plants that try to overcome the useful ones. He labors hard and endlessly in sweat against the lasting effects of his sin. “The fall” was swift and hard and lasting.
I turned to look around the 360 degrees of past, present and future, and saw the eternal effects of man's fatal choice. But I saw all is not lost, for the seed of the woman crushed Satan's head at the cross. He was truly defeated in his purpose, even though he bruised the heel of the Lord when He died for my sins that I might be born again and begin a new life in Christ.Victory over Satan, death and hell would come through the second Adam, and light will again shine over all the universe of God.
Above the dark words, TEMPTATION and CONDEMNATION, I see the blood red word -SALVATION: larger, greater and more enduring. I see through “faith-eyes” the first literal, physical death that took place on earth – the death of an innocent. Life-blood flows that the result of sin can be covered. The innocent dies for the guilty, the sinless for the sinful. These are not works of sin-polluted hands, but the evidence of the cost of salvation by grace. Not only did God's grace provide a covering for their guilt as an atonement for sin, but grace drove them from the First Garden – and kept them out. They would not be able to eat fruit from the tree of life and live forever in their sinful state.
As I turn to look again into the future, I see the death of Christ giving back far more than Adam lost when he sinned. We have been given a place far greater than Eden, where we will live forever with the Lord.
And that includes me – even me!
We don't know that we're up against when the pressure first comes
But when we sense there are some questions raised against God and His name
Then we need to stop where we are and face this serious fact –
We are being made the object of a satanic attack.
The whole downward process begins with temptation.
Temptation when yielded to leads to condemnation.
If Satan can get us to doubt God, he has a terrible hold.
And it won't be too long until our resolve does fold.
After doubt comes a subtle form of distortion.
Instead of the whole truth there is quoted only a portion
To suit as person's desire to do things their own way –
And it is not long after that one is starting to sway.
Denial is a way to excuse one's behavior.
It is often used to try to curry another one's favor.
But denial is usually another way for a person to lie
Or else excuse what they know is wrong, they will try to deny.
When God says there is some things He wants us to do –
And we disobey Him because we didn't want to –
Then we will find ourselves outside of God's will.
Disobedience is proof we are going downhill.
There is no doubt sin has a terrible effect.
Once a person gives way to it, we hardly know what is next.
The curse came not just on failing man alone –
All of earth was cursed because of what man has done.
“The fall into sin Father God, is not hard to discern. Everywhere there is evidence of its consequences. May there be some way Father, that there could be the encouragement of new life brought to these people here. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”