In the Garden of Eden there
was one main river. And out of that one river flowed four distributaries - the Pishon,
Gihon, Tigris and Euphrates. The brief description of the gold and minerals
found in the land of Havilah, which the Pishon flowed through, tells us that
God had put rich resources in man’s living environment. He is a providential
God. He doesn’t want life to be dull and drab. He provides resources to enrich life.
Living with a view that God is the source of all the richness of life, help us
to rightly steward the resources He has provided us.
In verse 15 we are told
that God placed man in the Garden, and gave man the responsibility to cultivate
and take care of the surrounding environment. We have earlier established that
the man was given great inner resources in order to effectively carry out his God-given
assignment. So man was responsible to God for how he went about his task. Whether
we realize it or not, our accountability in life is ultimately to God. He
expects us to live out our assignments in life responsibly. Know this: God is the
source, and our bosses and superiors are His resources to help us build a
responsible life. Like the first man, God does have a hand in the respective
places where we find ourselves in. And like him, God expects us to responsibly
discharge our duties. Bear in mind that we are ultimately accountable to God
for the stewardship of our life and resources He had given us.
The commandment given to
man in verses 16-17 regarding the two trees in the Garden is mainly to show us
that God had given man the freedom of choice. He did not make man a robot with
no capability to make decisions of our own free will. But though man is given the
freedom and liberty to make choices, he however, does not have the liberty to control
the outcome. The outcome is determined by the actions taken. We do have the
freedom of choice but not the freedom to determine the outcome of our choice.
Thus we must choose the course of action in life wisely.
In verses 16-17, we can also
see that God had given man plenty of allowances but only one prohibition. He
said that “From any tree of the garden you
may eat freely; but from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat
from it you will surely die.” Notice it says that man could eat from any
tree but one. That one prohibition for man
was the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, a tree that
would spell death for man. It is named tree of the knowledge of good and evil, suggesting
that the experience this fruit will bring is a mixed one. It renders a person incapable
of committing his or her whole life entirely to God. The forbidden tree is a
compromise. The result is not clear cut. It could be good or it could be evil. It
always falls within the grey area and put man in a dilemma. Whereas the result of
partaking of the tree of life is always good. There is no shade of grey in the
tree of life because it always endears us to God. The path of life is
determined by the decision we make. Practicing any principle that derives from
careful and due consideration from God’s Word, always brings us closer to God.
It is likened to partaking of the tree of life.
The decision we make in
life represents the fruit we partake. It is wise that we always evaluate the
choices available. If any decision put us in a dilemma; if it kills spiritual
sensitivity and distract us; if it incapacitates us to move in tandem with God;
and if it separates us and keeps a distance between God and us; it most likely
comes from that forbidden tree. The fruit from the tree of life is what we
want. It will lead us higher and draw us nearer to God. Our path to God or
otherwise, always starts at the point our decision is made. Remember to begin
with the end in mind. Our end-goal is always to be nearer to God and enjoy Him forever.
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