Like God > not like God > like Jesus

 

READ: Genesis 1-8

NOTE: Yesterday my reading was supposed to start in Genesis but for some reason, the computer version opened to December 30 and I did not notice it was the wrong day. God did that. His message to me was important. I now realize this is my focus for this year — to put action to whatever He teaches me. Teaching it to others is good, but neglecting to obey Him myself is not acceptable.

That said, today I’m combining January 1 and 2. This reading prompted thoughts, first about God making people in His image but without the knowledge of good and evil . . .

God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:3–5)

Their disobedience to this command had results in that they experienced evil. First, there would be hostility between Satan disguised as a snake and the woman and her offspring (singular pointing to Jesus) . However, that offspring would win. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

For the women, evil meant “In pain you shall bring forth children” and there would be a contrary attitude between her and her husband with him overruling. “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” That means gender battles are the result of sin.

For the man, work became a burden. Weeds make difficult the task of growing food. Physical death would be the fate of all humanity. Not only that, there was jealousy and animosity in the family. One brother killed the other one and when God asked him about it, he showed lack of any concern by saying, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” Even today, this expression is common in those who don’t care about others. This attitude is also the result of sin.

Later, Adam fathered a son “in his own likeness, after his image” indicating that instead of being in the image of God, the offspring of those first sinners were also like their parents with this tendency to sin and to suffer the consequences. This increased. Later verses say, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:3–8) Had not Noah “found favor in the eyes of the Lord” the flood would have ended the history of humanity.

Yet later in history, God gives an incredible promise. After God became a man, and after Jesus died for our sin and rose again, the Bible says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are . . . Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1–2)

In Eden, God forbade the fruit that would make them be like Him, yet centuries later, He tells those who believe that we will be like Christ! Instead of being introduced to sin and evil, He will transform us to be like Jesus in His humanity, humbly reliant on the Holy Spirit and joyfully obedient to the will of God. This isn’t about knowing good and evil or having the omniscience of God but about a glad submission to His will, no matter what He asks.

Knowing the end of the story is a delight. Jesus came to reverse the curse, to change sinful hearts and put in a desire for righteousness. The enemy is still there, taunting us with lies and trying to lure us into sin, but Jesus has defeated him. Husbands and wives still vie for power, but Jesus makes marriages work in harmony for those who walk with Him. Work can still be a drudgery, yet is changed when He is in our lives. Family life is not perfect yet, but Jesus changes that as well; I’ve seen it so many times. For me, trusting Jesus Christ is vital. How important to show my faith by obedience! This is living more like He lived and more like what God intended when He created human beings in the first place. This is the desire He put in my heart.