May 14, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“To Adam He said, ‘Because you listened to the woman and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you must not eat, I tell you- cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.’”

(Genesis 3.17)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

The consequences of the sin committed by Adam and Eve are ongoing. The measure of grace is meted out by our return to restore and maintain the land instead of abusing it. No, I am not a “tree hugger.” But conservation is a part of God’s plan for humankind. It is the conservation of holiness and righteousness, the preserving of the order of God’s desire for all His creation. It doesn’t matter which came first in the understanding and sharing of the story of creation. The starting point is always God. The purpose is always “us.” I think I mentioned this before. I read where someone said “Why did God make all the universe and only on one planet create life?” I laughed at the question in my head as I read it. I laughed because the answer is simple: He loved us. It isn’t a mystery. It is a declaration. From the “good and very good” at the end of the sixth day before the Sabbath rest to the “wait here in the garden and I will return to take you where I want you to be” (yes, I heard the echo of the Spirit’s words spoken by Jesus to the disciples as recorded by the Apostle John, “I am going now to prepare a place for you; and if I go, then you will know that I am going back to take you there with me.” – John 14.3) This is the scene of Genesis 2 as God set Adam to the side and then created a world for him. It was all for him and the “two” he represented. God did this and went to gather Adam in and set creation in motion. (Genesis 2.8ff) Adam did not know where God had gone but so connected by the breath of life, it may not have even crossed his mind. It would be interesting to note that as a part of this creation story in Genesis 2, the mention of “alone” is key to the entire pericope. God creates man and sets him to sit alone waiting. Patience is a virtue, so they say. Patience without knowing a sense of time is mere existence. By that definition, God is more than existence. God is time from before the beginning and after the end. That is why in this story (without days including the Sabbath) it is about existence. It answers the question of meaning and purpose without assigning gender specific. Paul wrote to the Christian community in Galatia (Galatians 3.28), “In Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, for all are one in Christ Jesus.” Since, from Genesis 1, we know that humanity was created in the image of His choosing to reflect His nature, character and what He designed humans to appear like, then it is no surprise that we are given a foreshadowing of the salvation story. (Eve was created as outpouring from Adam’s side as Christ was proven dead on the cross by the wound left by the Roman spear.) Our existence is proven in Christ alone. We are a new creature and creation in Him as we become one in Him in spirit and in truth.

Sadly, we only reflect God’s image. We are empowered into life by His spirit. But as God is in His nature and character- love, then choice becomes a part of the equation. God made the choice to love us into existence and created an existence for us to love. He had to allow us the choice. In this story, the choice is about connection- with whom will we exist. The Law that God gives, either as the “Great Command” or as the “Ten Commandments,” is given two parts. The first part is how we relate to God in maintaining the holy relationship with the Creator. The second part is how we relate to one another in the varying circles of “neighbor”: parents, spouse, community, stranger, possessions. The choice is clear. Choose God first and we maintain an alignment of holiness and righteousness which defines and enriches all else. If we do not choose God first, well…. then there is “the Fall.” How does the Fall happen? It is a question of existence with or without God, with or without a support community. And the consequences change everything. Choose God and live. Choose anything else and death becomes reality with pain and suffering. What is good and fruitful and abundant becomes enhanced. Or, what is good and fruitful and abundant becomes hard, unyielding and demanding. Look at the “Promised Land” in comparison to the desert where the Hebrews spent 40 years. It had its challenges and rewards. The choice of which one focused on became the consequence. So it is with our spiritual lives spilling out onto the rest of our lives. Because Adam “sinned” the ground from which he came and to which he was sent became cursed. It was hard, unyielding and demanding. It demanded sweat, tears and ultimately blood. And the course of their redemption would require the same to counteract it. So, “as in Adam all men die, so in Christ all may have life.” (1 Corinthians 15.22)

Therefore, choose God, choose love, choose life.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.