Living in the Spirit

June 1, 2021

Scripture Reading: Genesis 3:8-15
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ He said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’ Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent tricked me, and I ate.’ The Lord God said to the serpent,

‘Because you have done this,

   cursed are you among all animals

   and among all wild creatures;

upon your belly you shall go,

   and dust you shall eat

   all the days of your life.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

   and between your offspring and hers;

he will strike your head,

   and you will strike his heel.’

God as a parent is the oldest story in the Bible, yet, we tend to turn quickly from God as a loving parent to the God of wrath who punishes us for our sins. We all find ourselves in the story above. At times we are the caretaker giving the instructions and, at other times, the child trying to hide a failure to follow them. Part of maturation is the development of the self. We get a lot of bumps and bruises making that journey. We test the wisdom of our parents as that prepares us to test the integrity of all future influences in life. Parenting involves helping children discern the difference between right and wrong and how to manage the gray in between.

I find it interesting that God takes wrath out on the serpent who tricked Adam and Eve into disobedience in the above-quoted part of the story.  Woe to those who try to mislead and entice God’s children away from righteousness.

Prayer: Lord, guide us as we grow in wisdom and truth and as we work to transmit what we learn, in not only our words but our actions, toward others. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.