by Michele Connell

Created on: July 25, 2008

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed." (Genesis 2:7,8).

God created a paradise for the man whom he formed. Complete with every good and perfect thing it was a haven, a respite for the Creator's masterpiece. Adam had everything he needed - except a helpmate, and God quickly took care of that too. They were given free reign in this blissful garden with only one stipulation. In Genesis 2:16,17, "And the Lord God commanded the man saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."'

So you wonder, if they had everything then why did they fall for one trick of the enemy and lust for the tree that was off limits? Or, in fact, why did God choose to put this tree in the midst of the garden at all? From the very beginning the Lord created man with flesh, bones, a heart and a free will to make choices whether good or bad, and it was a test of their obedience to see this tree, walk by it, just know that it stood so near, and yet it was off limits. This is a struggle that still remains to this day. Many people are led by their flesh instead of their spirit. Our flesh lusts and wars against the Spirit continually.Look at the three temptations offered by the serpent: lust of flesh (she saw the tree was good for food), lust of the eyes (it was pleasant to the eyes), pride of life (desirable to make one wise). Often, we wrestle with things we know are wrong but seem unable to resist the call of the enemy to just take one bite. Just one! What's it going to hurt?

As you see through this true depiction just one "bite" for Adam and Eve cost them everything. Nothing has changed. God still reigns on high. We still walk before Him with free will and choices that we must make everyday. The lies of the enemy are sent to divert, distract, steal, kill and destroy every good promise from the Lord. But the Bible says that Jesus came that we might have life and have it to the fullest.

Suddenly, Adam and Eve knew they were naked (chapter 3). It says in verse 7, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings." All the things the cunning serpent promised looked so appealing, but

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