You are What You Eat

This week, in Devotions for Lent, the theme is identifying discontent. One of the corresponding readings is in Genesis, about the fall of man.  At first, I wanted to skim/skip over this reading, thinking "yah I get it, we are sinful, this is the beginning of sin, blah blah." I think God likes to smile at me when I actually listen to Him and do what I'm told, because I decided to read it, and I learned from it. :) So here's what I thought/learned:

1. Why would God even put a tree in the garden if He didn't want Adam and Eve to eat from it? Why even put that temptation there? He could have just let them live in harmony with Him forever!

2. Eve was discontent.

3. I found where the saying "from dust you were made, and to dust you shall return" comes from. (Genesis 2:19)

Now, I am no theologian by any means, and I may be simplifying this too much, but it occured to me that God put that tree there as a choice. Out of His great love for us, He gave us free will, and this is the first example of exercising that liberty. Now let's couple that thought with the next relization- Eve was discontent. I believe she was definitely curious, but instead of being 'content' with the fruit she already had, she wanted more. Thus, she chooses to disobey God, and then the downward spiral unfurls as her and Adam are awakened to their nakedness, experience shame, guilt, and lose their beautiful home. I think discontentment and choice go hand and hand. If she had been content, she would have chosen to enjoy the fruits God so abudantly bestowed on them. Because of this choice, not only does God banish them from the garden and punish them with pain and hard labor, but He makes them mortal. Thus, Adam is forced to work the ground, and thus the phrase "from dust you were made, to dust you will return."

So now I have to ask myself: what is it in my life that I am discontent with? Where should I be choosing God, instead of  forbidden fruit? Once again we are reminded of our "dirt" status. During this season, we need to be asking God to reveal the restless, discontent areas of our lives, and to give us the strength to surrender those to Him.

We always have a choice.

Reading for Today:
Psalm 51- This is one of the key verses in Lent, it speaks to our desperate need for repentance and renewal
Genesis- 2:4-3:24