Is cultivating character easy?
A tree appeared in Psalm 1 as a symbol of a flourishing life....and in the beginning of Genesis trees are also important. Genesis 2:9 tells us that the garden of Eden was planted with trees that were pleasant to the sight and good for food, but then mentions two trees that seem to have a different purpose.
Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9
These two trees are a mystery. God commands the man and woman not to eat of the tree of knowledge, telling them that if they eat its fruit, they will die. So why put this deadly tree right in the middle of the garden, and then tell the man and woman that they should not eat its fruit? It sounds unfair, or unkind.....The serpent does not need to work very hard to convince them to ignore God's command and eat its fruit-
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6
Perhaps the story is all the more puzzling to us today, because we live in a culture that tells us that we deserve to get what we want. If we see something appealing, whether it's a phone, a car, a holiday or someone else's spouse, if we want it badly enough then we should take it. The strength of our desire becomes a measure of whether we should have it or not.
But what if this story instead becomes the first opportunity that these brand-new human beings have to develop character?
Imagine the alternative- a trouble free existence in paradise, with no challenges, no decisions, just a garden full of delicious fruit. Would this really have enabled the man and woman to grow into mature human beings?
Maybe the things that help us cultivate character are the difficulties we face, not the times that things are easy.
Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9
These two trees are a mystery. God commands the man and woman not to eat of the tree of knowledge, telling them that if they eat its fruit, they will die. So why put this deadly tree right in the middle of the garden, and then tell the man and woman that they should not eat its fruit? It sounds unfair, or unkind.....The serpent does not need to work very hard to convince them to ignore God's command and eat its fruit-
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6
Perhaps the story is all the more puzzling to us today, because we live in a culture that tells us that we deserve to get what we want. If we see something appealing, whether it's a phone, a car, a holiday or someone else's spouse, if we want it badly enough then we should take it. The strength of our desire becomes a measure of whether we should have it or not.
But what if this story instead becomes the first opportunity that these brand-new human beings have to develop character?
Imagine the alternative- a trouble free existence in paradise, with no challenges, no decisions, just a garden full of delicious fruit. Would this really have enabled the man and woman to grow into mature human beings?
Maybe the things that help us cultivate character are the difficulties we face, not the times that things are easy.
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