Knowledge is power...so says the serpent

You know I've been thinking a lot about Adam and Eve this week. I think they possibly talked about Adam and Eve last week at VBS, so that might be why the two have been on my mind lately. I didn't actually go to any of the lessons due to helping with games or crafts, but on Sunday I heard Adam and Eve mentioned and it got me thinking.

We all know the story of them right?

God made Adam, the man, to work and take care of the Garden of Eden. But then God noticed Adam had no suitable helper or as I like to think of it, Adam was lonely. So God made Adam fall asleep and He made Adam a companion from one of the ribs of Adam's body. So that's Eve for ya. Then the serpent comes along one day and tricks Eve into eating one of the fruits from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and then Eve gave Adam some. And they hid from God because they were afraid of then they got kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

Ok, so there are some things I didn't put too much detail into my summary, so if you want the full, long story, check out Genesis 1-3.

Have you ever thought about what would happen if Eve hadn't been deceived and eaten from that tree?

I think about it a lot sometimes. If she hadn't been deceived, would we still be living in the Garden of Eden or would someone else have turned against and gone to eat the fruit? Or digging deeper, would Jesus have needed to come if we were still leaving in the Garden of Eden? But then again, what if Eve had been smart and not eaten the fruit and waited for God to give her and Adam the knowledge about this kind of stuff?

I want us to ponder on that last question.

What if they had waited? What if they had not been deceived? What if Adam had told Eve not to listen to the serpent? What if they had waited on God's plan?

I think God had planned on telling them eventually. But why would He put that tree there? Only God knows why that for sure. It was after all His garden. I think it was a test. God knows everything right? So didn't He know that the serpent would trick Eve into eating the fruit?

This kind of stuff just amazes me about God! God knows everything. He has a plan for our lives. Each and every one of us, He knows what we're supposed to do with our lives. It's an amazing thing. Yet I have so many questions about how He works. It's amazing that He knows our future. I'm just so amazed and fascinated by the way God does things.

So, what if Adam and Eve had waited for God to tell them about this knowledge? But then again I question, what if that was God's plan all along for them to be deceived and to eat that fruit? Was it His plan? But what if they had waited for God's knowledge? Who needs fruit to give you knowledge when you have a God who is bigger than anything else?

So I guess we come to waiting. Maybe Adam and Eve were impatient. Or maybe they just didn't know any better. I don't think they were troublemakers on purpose. I really don't think they knew any better. They heard God say not to eat from that tree, or did they? I'm pretty sure Adam heard it, but Eve came after that was said I believe. So maybe it's the fault of Adam. Did he not tell Eve that? No, I'm pretty sure he did tell her something of that sort because she told the serpent that she wasn't allowed to eat from that tree.

I don't think that knowledge really helped them at all. The serpent said that they would be like God, knowing good and evil. We know good and evil today right? And we follow Jesus and we follow God, but we're not God. We could never be God. I would never want to be God. That's too much responsibility. Thank you God for being who You are.

The knowledge they gained came with a price. God wasn't too happy, was He? No, He cursed the ground because of them. To find out what all He said, check out Genesis 3:17-19.

But I keep coming back to what if they waited for God to tell them this wonderful knowledge? What if we waited on God instead of going our own way or doing our own thing?

I have a feeling that if we waited, we would learn a whole lot of interesting stuff. God would share a lot of things with us that we would have never known unless we would wait for it.

Wait for it. Wait for it. You know I've heard that patience is the ability to keep a good attitude while you wait. This I actually read from Battlefield of the Mind for Teens by Joyce Meyer. Good book, definitely one to pick up.

I think God plays a little game with us sometimes. You can pray about wanting something and you can ask God for it, but He isn't always gonna give it to you right away. He wants you to be patient. I call it the patience game and sometimes it really stinks.

There are times when I can be patient, but other times when I'm not so patient. I'll give you an example of my impatience.

So the college I'm going to (Spring Arbor University) said that they would have roommate information out to us in August. On the first day of August, I went out to my mailbox expecting a letter, but there was none. Then the next day that we had mail, I expected something, but I didn't get it. Then the next day, I thought I was finally getting it, but instead, I got something about financial aid. I finally got my letter this past Saturday. I was overjoyed to finally get it.

I did not want to wait for it however. It was driving me crazy everyday not getting to find out who my roommates were. But I had to be patient. I think last Thursday or Friday, I finally decided that I needed to be patient and then the letter came on Saturday.

So getting back to Adam and Eve, what do you think would have happened if they would have waited for God to reveal His knowledge? Would we know more from God than from eating that fruit? Probably. I think God would have been happy to share with Adam and Eve this knowledge when He felt they were ready to hear it.

As for the serpent, knowledge isn't really power. We don't have as much knowledge as God does. We don't have God's power. And the serpent, lost his legs for deceiving Eve. Way to be knowledgeable. And the serpent thought knowledge was power. Think again.