“To Dust
You Shall Return”
And
to the man he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and
have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days
of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall
eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and
to dust you shall return.”
The
man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD
God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.
Then
the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and
evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life,
and eat, and live forever” – therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the
garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the
man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed
the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of
life.
Genesis 3:17-24
At
some point in our lives, all of us have been so close to a temptation that our
perspective was lost. It may have involved something as small as a rumor. Adam
and Eve faced a similar problem. They became so occupied with one plant in
their garden paradise that they could not see the forest for the tree. And look
at what it cost them. The Garden of Eden had been created for them. They would
have faced no evil, no trials, no sickness, and no death. And they would have
enjoyed the company of the Creator Himself. Yet they gave up everything for one
forbidden tree.
Their
mistake still plagues us. The moment of temptation becomes so overwhelming, the
idea so irresistible, and our twisted logic so justifiable.
Fill
your mind with the truth’s of God’s Word and rely on
the Holy Spirit’s moment-by-moment guidance and strength. Then you will
experience the lasting joy of God’s blessing rather than temporary pleasure.
Your response to temptation will make you or break you.
Our Daily Bread –