WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Imagine that which you most long for in life. Now suppose that this is not God’s will for you. Can you see yourself turning away from that desire and towards the way prepared for you by your Lord? More than a story There is a danger, as we read about the baddy serpent, lovely Eve, dim-witted Adam and the tasty, tempting fruit, that the homely familiarity of the tale disguises the misery of what takes place. God in his grace has given us a story which can be presented in cartoon form to small children but the significance of the events is profound and disastrous for humankind. Consider this talking snake. Whether we prefer to take the chapter as somehow rooted in history or we see it as God’s truth in parable form, this character must represent something deeper and darker (see Revelation 12:9). Our choice At a point in history, our race – our relatives – chose to disobey their creator, to ignore his plan for their well-being and to engage with evil. The evil was beyond Adam and Eve’s full understanding (and ours, thankfully) but they knew they were choosing to do wrong. Had I been there in that garden, would I have decided differently? Alas, the evidence of my own life is not hopeful. Respond: Alone we cannot be unlike Adam and Eve. Let us determinedly seek the power of the Holy Spirit so that daily we can choose a new life in Christ. http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-01-04