One Little Thing... continued

Please be aware that this post is a continuation of the previous week's post.

In my mind there is no doubt that Adam recognized a difference in his wife when she offered him the fruit. One cannot go from a perfectly made human being to much, much less than that without it being clear as day. Sin creates a separation, a gap, a chasm between that which is holy and that which is not. As a result, Adam's choice to take the fruit was exactly that, a choice. He recognized that as a result of taking and eating the fruit there was something different about his wife. She had changed and not for the better. A major gap/chasm had formed between them, and he knew the source.
So i'm convinced that Adam went into eating this forbidden fruit well aware, much more aware than his wife, of the command as well as the consequences of his actions. He was not deceived into considering that the fruit was good for food. He could have cared less if it was pleasing to the eye. The desire to make one wise may have had some pull, but ultimately i believe that even that desire was overwhelmed by seeing the consequences of Eve's actions. So when Adam made the choice to take of the fruit he knowingly made the choice to turn away from God for the sake of his wife.
As a result, Eve's sin was a blind sin resulting in part from deception. Adam's sin, however, was a sin with open eyes. There was no deception. He recognized and made the choice to turn his back on God. He loved God dearly. God created him. God gave him everything he had and wanted, but he desired his wife and unity with his wife even more. So he placed his wife before God. He chose his spouse over his source. That which was created from him over He whom created him. The rest, as they say, is history.

Wow, i just realized what a comparison and contrast this incident and choice are to what happened to Abraham and Isaac when God tested Abraham; asking him to sacrifice his only son whom he loved.

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One Little Thing Can Make All the Difference in the World

"She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."
Genesis 3:6

I really have to wonder what was going on in Adam's head when his wife Eve gave him the forbidden fruit. I have already commented about what the text states here; that Adam was with Eve at the time. When researching this word it appears that by Adam being "with" Eve he was in the very near vicinity if not right next to her at the time. Chances are pretty good that he knew what had happened long before she ever gave him the fruit, but then again he may not have. He may have been nearby and not privy to the conversation. Either way, when the fruit was given to Adam there is no doubt in my mind that he knew what that fruit was. It was the one thing that he had been forbidden from partaking in. It was the only thing that he knew and understood, beyond the shadow of a doubt, was wrong. So the decision that he made had to be a conscious decision.

One of my professors, Dr. Fount Schultz, at one point brought together some thoughts in relation to this topic. When God created man, did He create an incomplete person? Did he design man to only use a part of facilities? I don't believe that He did or would have. If He didn't create man to fully utilize His body and mind why would He have created them as He did? Currently as human beings we only actively use around 10% of our brain. I have heard that if our brains were utilized to their full potential, what we would be able to do is unimaginable. I know that for me there are days where i can't think or focus to stay on task and read and understand even light reading. Other times my mind is so clear and undistracted that i can get most anything done. On those kinds of days, reading a scientific paper and seeing problems and flaws as well as the potential and possibilities is in easy grasp. I can easily understand theories and concepts that the day before had my mind spinning before i even got past the first couple of sentences.

That change in our mental capabilities would have occurred at the fall of man, at the eating of the fruit. If/when that was the case, Eve taking the fruit and eating it would have changed everything. Adam would have been able to see immediately the difference in his bride. It's like working with the moderate to severely developmentally disabled. You don't need to be a genius to recognize the difference immediately. So when Eve took the fruit there is no doubt in my mind that Adam knew what had happened. So for him to make the decision to eat the fruit would have had to have been a conscious choice. So seeing the consequences why would he have done it?

More on this next week...

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All Things Done...Together?

"Eve gave the fruit to her husband who was with her, and he ate it." I remember when i was in college and one of the guys i was rooming with at the time and i were talking about this. We were assigned to read a theology book by one of the major denominations as part of a class. The chapter was on sin and the fall of man. I don't remember exactly how it was stated but i remember the basic gist of the argument. It talked about how Eve had stepped out of the cover of her husband's instruction, and had fallen into temptation and sin. She was alone with the serpent, allowed the temptation to gain her attention and focus, and succumbed to it. It also mentioned that Adam had been in another part of the garden when the fall occurred and was not privy to the situation. It was a decision Eve made on her own. The theology book quoted the text of Genesis 3 vs 1-6 and ended with "She also gave to her husband". I remember my roommate and i at the time looking at that, shaking our heads in confusion. The chapter had just finished saying that Eve had been alone, but what was quoted conveniently stopped right smack dab before the words "who was with her".

She was not alone. Her husband was not far away. If he wasn't right next to her, he was certainly nearby. Why does this matter? It matters a great deal because if he was nearby, he may have had every chance of keeping the fall from occurring. There is a distinct possibility that he could have been there when all of this occurred, and instead of stepping in to stop the situation he allowed it to play out. In which case he failed as the leader and the head. He was the one who had received the direct instruction and it was his responsibility to pass on that instruction and ensure that it was followed. So the initial failure and fall was possibly as much his fault as hers.

So what's the point? Why is this important? What does this have to do with us?

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Seeking What is Not Ours to Have

Genesis 3:6

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make wise, she took of its fruit, and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

It's interesting to see here how this all plays out. Eve saw that the fruit of the tree was 1) good for food, 2) pleasing to the eyes, & 3) desirable to make one wise. Why did the first of those two matter? She had all the food she could want in the garden. There were all kinds of trees that bear fruit. There were apples, oranges, pears, plums, kiwi, etc., etc., etc. You name it, it was there. There was no lack of food. Fruit was freely available. There were also plenty of trees, bushes, flowers, & shrubberies that were pleasing to the eyes. The garden was just that. It was a haven of cultivated textures, sounds, smells, and beautiful sights. The woman could have found fruit & beauty anywhere she wanted to.

I don't think that the issue so much is that Eve was looking for beauty and food. I believe that the issue is that she hadn't looked at this tree in that way before. We can go by the same tree, the same house, the same person each and every day and never really see them. Then suddenly something is pointed out to us, or we begin to notice something and nonchalance becomes notice, and notice becomes obsession. I firmly believe that previously Eve had seen this tree as off limits. It was not an issues because she knew she couldn't have it, so she put it out of her mind. Now all of a sudden she begins to notice what previously had not been an issue. More than that she began to dwell and her focus became this tree and its fruit. This ultimately led to her and their fall.

The same thing happens to us in our relationships and marriages. We tend to get focused and stuck on something we want and don't have or something we don't want and are stuck with. We see in other things and people what we desire for ourselves and we allow that to become a focus and obsession. How many men see a good looking girl or watch something unfold and it brings a desire for that in their own life? How many women see what looks like a great marriage or relationship on tv or that a friend has, takes the positive aspects of that relationship, and wishes that their relationship or marriage was like that? Don't get me wrong. The desire for a better relationship or marriage is not necessarily a bad or wrong desire. It is when that desire becomes a driving force in our lives and instead of building us up, tears us apart and draws us to destroy what we have.

The fruit had been forbidden for Eve, so she ignored it. She knew it wasn't allowed, so in her mind she didn't even acknowledge it. However, when it was brought to her attention, instead of turning away from the desire, she embraced it. Instead of accepting that it wasn't hers to take, she allowed it to take her. That in turn brought the fall and her own destruction.

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