May 17, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever.’”

(Genesis 3.22)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Life and love are bound by choices. They are defined by the choices we make. We know the consequences of the choices made in the Garden that day:

Choice: Adam chose to abandon Eve to engage the Serpent and disobey God.

Consequence: Eve was left in a singular position of vulnerability in the presence of Satan who appeared as an unusual and intriguing serpent.

Choice: Eve chose to consider the logic of the Serpent and disobey God.

Consequence: Eve recognized that she now was different than all other creatures.

Choice: Eve chose to include Adam and Adam chose to not exclude Eve.

Consequence: They knew shame together for who they were and their condition before God; ultimately, they knew they were like all the rest of creation and unlike God.

Choice: Satan chose to continue his rebellion against God by creating an insurrection on earth as he did in Heaven.

Consequence: Satan, Adam and Eve live a life outside of the protection of Eden and experienced life in the “real” world where mercy had been extended and the choice to live righteously before God and humanity became complicated.

Choice: As in Adam all people will suffer the consequence of sin which is death in the flesh and separation from God in the spirit.

Consequence: A supreme sacrifice had to be made to put into effect mercy and grace as the sign of God’s love and forgiveness.

Hear the dynamic of what is said in verse 22. Because of the choice of disobedience, there had to be a consequence. The real consequence is that there had to be a consequence. They couldn’t just get away with disobedience as if it never happened. For us to read and hear “…they cannot be allowed to eat the fruit of the tree of life,” was to say they could not simply have the opportunity to think that being disobedient was an acceptable lifestyle. We do not know if Adam and Eve would have lived forever unless they ate from the Tree of Life. Maybe the point in time would have come when they felt a nearness of death, somehow, that they would have needed to choose to eat the fruit. Wasn’t that the choice all along? The Tree of Life was not forbidden to them. Of course, without a sense of death what would “living forever” actually mean? Isn’t that the way the age of youth begins to diminish? The reality that death is an option brings out the angst of “How do I live forever?” This is the essence of the Parable of the Rich Young Ruler, is it not? In his youthful exuberance for having a life of plenty, the reality that it could not actually bring him eternal life led him to Christ. There he asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He knew that all the riches he possessed still did not overcome the reality of the curse of Adam’s rebellion. The Law, the Ten Commandments, was not given as a means of securing eternal life. No earthly man or woman could fulfill the whole of the Law and thus be found righteous enough to live forever. Even Enoch who walked with God for 365 years and then was taken by God without death, could not have done so without God’s direct and divine intervention. The Law shows us how we must live in right relationship with God and others. Look even Jesus who declared He alone came to fulfill the Law and the full measure of it was not thus exempted from death. His death was ordained by the Law because “…surely you will die” had to be fulfilled as sin had to be overcome by God’s sacrifice…even of His own Son. But, in laying down His life as an atonement for all the world (the human community), giving Himself up and all His riches of Heaven to take up the cross and follow the only way and means of satisfying the covenant of blood which God instituted in the Garden, Jesus gained eternal life for Himself and us. He would have done it even at the risk of never experiencing it Himself because He loved and loves us. How could He have done otherwise? If He did it for Himself or eschewed the calling and let Himself down from the cross then He would have aligned Himself with Satan and have been cast out and down. Without the shedding of the blood of Lamb that was slain, we would be with Satan in Hell forever.

The choice seems to be clearer now to me. Verse 22 says, we would be like God and those in Heaven (at least the Son and the Spirit) because we would know right and wrong and live without the penalty of sin forever. That could not happen. Jesus proved it on the cross as the epitome of His gospel. Not even God could survive that in the way Satan thought it could happen. Satan knew it but refused the choice of righteousness because he desired the consequence of being free from God. He thought he could live forever and not die? In a sad and tragic way it is true because he will dwell in the house of hell forever. Thus the choice is ours as well, mighty ones of God: choose Jesus as the Christ and live by mercy and grace pursuing all righteousness…. or

choose living to one’s self as does Satan every second of his life and die forever separated from the blessing of God’s love given up for the curse of God’s love which is justice according to His eternal and proficient law and word.

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.