Fruit of God vs. Disobedience
A few days back, I was driving home from outing on a very hot Saturday. The summer is close and the temperatures are rising. There was a traffic jam and I was sweating in my car, slowly trudging along. At one point, my car rested a few minutes in the shade of a huge tree and I did not want to get out of that place in a hurry. It struck me and I was thankful that God in His infinite wisdom placed that tree over there just for me on this hot sweltering day so I could get a few minutes of rest under its canopy. (Of course, there were several people around me and God was aiming that tree for the benefit of us all, but you know, it feels good when you know He did something especially with 'me' in mind!)
God's infinite wisdom must be trusted.
When He places even a tree, it has a purpose. Some time or the other, we all have lamented, or at least wondered that why on earth Father God needed to place the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. If the tree was not intended for Adam and Eve to eat from, why was it placed in their vicinity, especially right next to the Tree of Life! Was God merely testing Adam and Eve - just to see whether they would obey or not? Would God in His infinite wisdom not see that Adam and Eve (mere dust) may stumble and fall?
God's infinite wisdom must be trusted. If He placed a tree in a place, it had a purpose.
God wanted the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil as much as He wanted the Tree of Life to be placed in Eden. The wise God knows the importance of knowledge and we can rest assured that the tree was in the right place. The position of the tree is also important. It was planted next to the Tree of Life. Often, we have heard that Jesus Himself is the Tree of Life. Another one placed right next to it cannot be an unimportant or unwanted tree.
We face many situations, people, relationships, and more, the very presence of which is hard to justify. While we may question God about these things, truth is that we must trust God for His wisdom.
Wisdom and Knowledge are the qualities of our God and His Son and His Holy Spirit. Who knows better the distinction between Good and Evil than Jesus Himself. Was not, then, the tree a facet of Jesus? The fruit of Jesus' trees are very much meant for His children alone. Had Adam waited until the cool of the day when His Father visited him, and asked of the fruit, he may have saved himself a lot of trouble.
All facets of the Master may not always be visible to us and we may mistake a good thing to be otherwise. Counsel and comfort are always available to us in God, even if we have to sometimes wait for our answers. All His blessings are meant for us, even if He does not pour them all out in one go, and waits. His wisdom must be trusted.
It wasn't the fruit then that harmed the first man; it was his disobedience in eating it against the will of God. Had the fruit been taken according to God's will, the same would have led us to life that now has led us to death. The tree was never meant for man's destruction; but man's own foolishness led him to make an unnecessary haste for something already meant for him by his Father.
Decisions made with good intentions, if out of God's will, would bear the undesired fruit of death. Decisions that may look not-so wise, but are in the will of God, are bound by God to produce good fruit. When we walk according to God’s will, He ensures our benefit and blessings. It is no longer our problem whether we would find a shady tree on a heated afternoon. He’ll provide.
The fruit went bad because of the way it was obtained. It was not merely the fruit in Adam's hand but the son of God in the Devil's hand. If Adam waited till God gave him the fruit, the control of Adam's life, his decisions, his understanding, his knowledge would have been in God's hand, to be developed according to His will and goodness for Adam. By being disobedient (and not by eating the fruit), Adam went out of God's will and came under the control of God's enemy, to be developed according to his will and destruction for Adam.
The fruit, however, has still helped us. The Knowledge itself was not a bad thing. It could not have been - it was from God. It has enabled many of us to discern between what is of God and what is not.
The blessings of God are not for our harm; and every blessing works according to the purpose God sent it for. Knowledge teaches fear and reverance of God and obedience follows.
The rule holds good. A good thing obtained by disobedience will fail to produce desired fruit. Disobedience is the worm that spoiled many a good apples rotten.
Even today, incentives for obeying God are unlimited. When we obey, the same fruit of knowledge takes us to a deeper understanding of our Lord and Master. Even today, our Husbandman desires to take out the worms and have us enjoy the fruit of His love and labor.
Let us not waste the labor of our Father! Let us be obedient; it must be as delicious as the aroma of fresh fruit to my God, I know!
God's infinite wisdom must be trusted.
When He places even a tree, it has a purpose. Some time or the other, we all have lamented, or at least wondered that why on earth Father God needed to place the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. If the tree was not intended for Adam and Eve to eat from, why was it placed in their vicinity, especially right next to the Tree of Life! Was God merely testing Adam and Eve - just to see whether they would obey or not? Would God in His infinite wisdom not see that Adam and Eve (mere dust) may stumble and fall?
God's infinite wisdom must be trusted. If He placed a tree in a place, it had a purpose.
God wanted the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil as much as He wanted the Tree of Life to be placed in Eden. The wise God knows the importance of knowledge and we can rest assured that the tree was in the right place. The position of the tree is also important. It was planted next to the Tree of Life. Often, we have heard that Jesus Himself is the Tree of Life. Another one placed right next to it cannot be an unimportant or unwanted tree.
We face many situations, people, relationships, and more, the very presence of which is hard to justify. While we may question God about these things, truth is that we must trust God for His wisdom.
Wisdom and Knowledge are the qualities of our God and His Son and His Holy Spirit. Who knows better the distinction between Good and Evil than Jesus Himself. Was not, then, the tree a facet of Jesus? The fruit of Jesus' trees are very much meant for His children alone. Had Adam waited until the cool of the day when His Father visited him, and asked of the fruit, he may have saved himself a lot of trouble.
All facets of the Master may not always be visible to us and we may mistake a good thing to be otherwise. Counsel and comfort are always available to us in God, even if we have to sometimes wait for our answers. All His blessings are meant for us, even if He does not pour them all out in one go, and waits. His wisdom must be trusted.
It wasn't the fruit then that harmed the first man; it was his disobedience in eating it against the will of God. Had the fruit been taken according to God's will, the same would have led us to life that now has led us to death. The tree was never meant for man's destruction; but man's own foolishness led him to make an unnecessary haste for something already meant for him by his Father.
Decisions made with good intentions, if out of God's will, would bear the undesired fruit of death. Decisions that may look not-so wise, but are in the will of God, are bound by God to produce good fruit. When we walk according to God’s will, He ensures our benefit and blessings. It is no longer our problem whether we would find a shady tree on a heated afternoon. He’ll provide.
The fruit went bad because of the way it was obtained. It was not merely the fruit in Adam's hand but the son of God in the Devil's hand. If Adam waited till God gave him the fruit, the control of Adam's life, his decisions, his understanding, his knowledge would have been in God's hand, to be developed according to His will and goodness for Adam. By being disobedient (and not by eating the fruit), Adam went out of God's will and came under the control of God's enemy, to be developed according to his will and destruction for Adam.
The fruit, however, has still helped us. The Knowledge itself was not a bad thing. It could not have been - it was from God. It has enabled many of us to discern between what is of God and what is not.
The blessings of God are not for our harm; and every blessing works according to the purpose God sent it for. Knowledge teaches fear and reverance of God and obedience follows.
The rule holds good. A good thing obtained by disobedience will fail to produce desired fruit. Disobedience is the worm that spoiled many a good apples rotten.
Even today, incentives for obeying God are unlimited. When we obey, the same fruit of knowledge takes us to a deeper understanding of our Lord and Master. Even today, our Husbandman desires to take out the worms and have us enjoy the fruit of His love and labor.
Let us not waste the labor of our Father! Let us be obedient; it must be as delicious as the aroma of fresh fruit to my God, I know!
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