Wisdom--Gen. 3

Eve strayed.

The serpent preyed.

Adam was afraid.

And the bloom of life began to fade.

All because of verse 6. "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."

Good for food. Yes, everything that God creates is good.

Pleasant to the eyes. Of course--God only creates the beautiful.

Desired to make one wise. ...What kind of wisdom did Eve want?

She was tempted by the thought of knowing as God did. Knowing what God did.

She and Adam--and consequently, the whole human race--now knows as God. Not all things, as God; not everything as God; but one thing in particular.

We now understand sin. Just like God.

In verse 22, even the Lord said, "Behold, the man is become as one of Us". One of Us. Like the Lord--in that he knew what evil was. Before the fall, man had no concept of this.

You don't have to look very far in our world to get a very good concept of it. So good a concept, that the perfect world out first parents knew is beyond comprehension.

God understands both.

And He loves the one, and hates the other.

Our world is the melting pot, the concentration, of the other.

Why not be rid of it once and for all?

Because God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.

And the world was full of sinners. Some who, God knew (ultimate wisdom), could be saved, if…

Yes, if.

If He created a bridge between the gap. A link from Heaven to earth, bound by ties that are never to be broken.

A Man. But more than a man. God Himself. But more than God.

A Saviour.

Jesus.

Why did He come to earth? Why endure what He did?

To rescue us from the wisdom we have acquired. To erase the chalk on our chalkboards. To make us perfect--truly like God in every sense that He possibly can.

But get this…

That likeness to God that we gained when we fell… Will never go away. That is, understanding evil.

And because we understand it, it will NEVER raise its ugly head again.

We fell because of a desire to gain wisdom.

And yet, we are saved through wisdom. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

And, in the end, we will be preserved from a second fall...by wisdom.

Lord, help me to seek true wisdom in my life. May I seek to know You, whom to know is life eternal. Give me the courage and strength to strive and struggle for the wisdom that You long to give me. And may, in the end, Your wisdom--Your Spirit--be found in me, and preserve me whole and entire, fully acceptable unto You. In Jesus' name… Amen.