Do you know the story about the tree? You know the one in the Bible, Adam and Eve, all
of that? They eat the fruit from the
tree. Everything goes bad, that story? Do
you realize? That story has nothing to
do with the tree. It has to do with the
lie. That’s the problem, the lie, not
the tree. What do I mean? In these words, written thousands of years
later, God points the way. Let’s hear
what God has to say.
It all went bad in the beginning, that’s what the Adam
and Eve and tree story tells you. But
why did it go bad? It went bad because
two people ate a piece of fruit? That’s
ridiculous. The story has nothing to do
with that. God could have said. Don’t pick the marigold or move that rock. It
went bad because of the lie.
You see. In the
story, God puts this tree in the garden.
He tells Adam and Eve not to eat from it. Why?
It’s a question of trust. Do
they really trust God? Do they trust that God loves them, that God wants the
best for them? So, God says to
them. Trust me. Trust me about thus
tree. Then this snake comes along and
tells them a lie. The snake says. You can’t trust God. God doesn’t love you. God doesn’t want the best for you. God is holding out on you. Don’t trust God about this tree. And they don’t. Instead, Adam and Eve believe the lie. And ever since the lie has infected the
world. And believe it or not, it
infects you.
You see. When
you trust that God loves you, that God loves you no matter what, it frees
you. It gives you security. It gives you worth nothing can take away. You
know. No matter what happens in your
life, you are ok. A love like that, frees
you from fear. It frees you like nothing
else.
But when you don’t trust in that love, it becomes hard
to trust in anything really. You have to
find something to give you security, to give you worth, to give you purpose. And whatever that thing is can be taken
away, it also gives you insecurity and fear.
You fear the loss of that thing, whatever it is. So, you do anything to keep it. Because if you lose it, it will crush you.
This past week, I read another story about that rich
people cheating scandal. You know the
one. The rich and famous paid to bribe
their kids’ way into top schools. These
people had everything. Even their kids
were doing alright. But it wasn’t
enough. Their kids had to get into their
dream school. Why? Their kids’ success had become their parents’
source of security. If their kids
weren’t successful, they weren’t successful.
So, out of fear, they did all they could to make that success real, even
if it meant cheating. They became slaves
to that drive.
That’s the slavery that Paul is talking about
here. That’s what he means when he
tells these people in Galatia, not to submit to slavery again. Before Paul came along and told them the
truth, that God loved them, that God had died to show that love, they had been
slaves to something. It might have been
success or wealth or their family or others’ approval. It might have been a pleasure that became an
addiction or some esoteric religion or whatever. The list goes on. But when Paul told them of God’s love, of
the certainty of that love, they became free.
But now they are becoming slaves again. Why?
The lie has come again. It has
come through people who claim to be Christians.
These people say. It’s not enough
to know that God loves you. You have to
do things to keep God happy, to keep God’s love. And so now, filled again with insecurity and
fear, they are believing that lie.
But in Paul’s words, God is telling them and you. Don’t believe the lie. Nothing you do changes God’s love, not even
religion. That’s what that whole
circumcision part means. Circumcision is
a religious ritual. If you become
super-good or religious, thinking that leads God to love you, God is
saying. You are believing the lie. If you believe that God doesn’t care or
doesn’t exist, so you can do whatever you want, you are believing the lie too. Because trust me, you think you’re free, but
you’re not.
The great writer David Foster Wallace said it well. He said.
In the day-to-day trenches of adult life,
there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not
worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to
worship. And the compelling reason for
choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship…is that pretty
much anything else you worship will eat you alive.
If you worship money and things if they
are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never
feel you have enough…worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you
will always feel ugly. And when time and
age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve
you…Worship power, you will up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever
more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart,
you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found
out. But the insidious thing about these
forms of worship is…. they’re unconscious.
They are default settings.
They are the lie operating in your life. Only the truth frees you. Only the truth gives you security and worth. And what is that truth? It is to believe in the love, the certainty
of the love. God doesn’t love you more
because you did this. And God doesn’t
love you less because you screwed up here.
God loves you period. God loves you
no matter what.
And when you know that love, when you believe that
love. When you trust that love believes in you, it changes everything. It changes you. It changes the world. God didn’t come and die for you, to make you
nice. God came and died for you to make
you new; to change you with a love, with a truth about yourself and God that frees
you.
In the Bible, hope doesn’t mean uncertainly. Hope means the opposite. Hope means something you expect to happen no
matter what. When Paul says we eagerly
wait for the hope of righteousness, of right relationship with God, he means, this
love is real. It’s certain. And this unshakable love changes
everything. If you want to know that
love, if you want to see how it changes you, if it hasn’t already, then begin
with just believing in it. Believe that God did give everything to show you the love, to destroy the lie forever. See how that love changes you, changes everything, even death.
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