10 February 2008            “What To Do?!  What To Do?!

 

All-wise and all-knowing God ~ Help us to set aside the many temptations and distractions that bombard our lives, so that we may focus, this morning, on YOU.  Amen.

 

          As I read through the 2 Scripture readings for today … image suddenly popped into my mind …

 

          Life’s Journey is like visiting an amusement park!

 

Think about it … isn’t life SOMETIMES:

 

·        Nice slow & gentle as train ride around the perimeter of the park

·        Like going in circles … the merry-go-round

·        As thrilling as riding the old wooden coaster at Hershey Park for the 12th time!

·        Scary and filled with anticipation … standing in line for THAT 1st time on the roller coaster

·        Exhilarating as the latest technology rides … that take you up / turn you upside down AND backwards / and drop you with a word of warning!

·        As challenging as winning at many of the carnival games

·        And filled with those tantalizing moments of hesitation … DO I?  DON’T I?  OH … WHAT SHOULD I DO?

 

Like some of the larger amusement parks … we will encounter many different paths and avenues to follow along life’s journey …

 

·        Some that follow the “straight and narrow”

·        Some that become the most direct route to our goal in life

·        Some that will seem to be like those detours that twist and turn and NEVER SEEM TO END

·        And some that are wonderfully meandering side roads … that take us off the beaten path … that give us a respite from the chaotic by-ways of life … that delight our senses and souls for a while

 

 

AND, just like at many of the views that we see from atop a particular ride … along life’s journey, we will encounter many spectacular sights … sights that are:

 

·        Breath-taking

·        Awe-inspiring

·        Thought-provoking

·        Life-changing

 

Sights that will give us a whole different perspective on the world around us … and an opportunity to glimpse the wonder in the ordinary / in our every day life … in an entirely new fashion.

 

 

 

And JUST like at that amusement park …

AND whether we like it or now …

                    Whether we welcome it or nor …

 

Around EVERY corner of our journey through life … we will find MULTIPLE opportunities to make decisions.

 

And, HERE is where that amusement park ride STOPS!

          BECAUSE … making decisions can be TOUGH … and ~ being human ~ it is NOT something we enjoy doing.  And so, SOMETIMES:

 

·        We agonize AND long for others to come and make that decision for us.

·        We react from our GUT and plunge into the deep end with a quick decision.

 

Whatever our style … whatever our feelings about having to MAKE a decision … AS HUMANS … we also FIERCELY GUARD our RIGHT to make our OWN DECISIONS!!!

 

Which is a good thing … BECAUSE EVERY UNIQUE and INDIVIDUAL LIFE is FILLED TO THE BRIM with a WIDE and WILD VARIETY of :

 

·        Options

·        Opportunities

·        Possibilities

AND

·        TEMPTATIONS

TEMPTATIONS is the unifying thought in both scripture lessons for today … this morning … let’s FOCUS on our lesson from Genesis.

 

Today’s reading begins in the MIDDLE of the STORY:

 

·        God has created Garden of Eden and filled it with every type of flower and plant that both delight the senses and provide food

·        God has also filled the Garden with every type of animal and fish and insect

·        AND God has created human life … made in His own glorious image.

 

And now God places “the man” (who remains un-named throughout our reading) into this wonderful paradise with 1 general direction and 1 command:

 

·        The MAN is to “work the ground and keep it in order” ~ preserve it / make it prosper

·        Eat from ANY tree in the garden … BUT … DO NOT EAT from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and Evil … the moment you do … you will be DEAD!

 

ABRUPTLY the scene switches … the MAN’s partner (WOMAN) has been created and they are living well in the Garden … UNTIL

 

The “most clever” of all the wild animals appears … the serpent.  His 1 casual questions forever changes things:

 

“NOW, let me get this right … did God tell you not to eat from ANY tree in the garden? …

          That is, are ALL trees off limits to you?

 

The WOMAN is quick to reply:  Oh NO!  We can eat from any tree we want … except the 1 in the middle of the garden … God said:

Do NOT eat from THAT tree …

          DON’T even TOUCH it …

Or you will die!”

 

(Notice that there is no surprise or amazement from WOMAN to be talking with the serpent … a true testimony to the harmony that existed in that place.)

 

SERPENT refutes God’s word …

          Don’t believe it.  You WON’T DIE …

BUT … the moment you eat it …

 

·        Your eyes will be opened

·        You will see what is REALLY going on

·        You will be like God

·        You will know EVERYTHING from GOOD to EVIL!

And WOMAN stares at the tree …

          AND sees that it is beautiful …

          AND filled with delicious fruit

          AND fills one with wisdom

 

 

And so WOMAN ~

          TAKES one of the tree’s fruit

                    EATS it

                             GIVES some of the fruit to MAN

                                       HE EATS it also.

 

And INSTANTLY … their EYES were OPENED

          AND THEY SAW CLEARLY …

 

AND what they saw filled them with SHAME … they saw:

·        That they were NAKED … EXPOSED

o      Physically to each other AND their surroundings

o      Emotionally / morally to God

 

AND so they made rudimentary clothing out of fig leaves and then HID themselves.

 

I often think that the SERPENT gets a bum rap in this story …because he seems to LURE the WOMAN away from what she and the MAN had been told by God.

 

Serpent NEVER once TELLS her to eat …  no arm-twisting OR coercion …

 

Serpent makes a casual observation about the nature of God’s command to them.

 

FROM observation … WOMAN focuses on tree … the REAL TEMPTATION … and then MAKES her own DECISION ~ allowing herself ~ and ultimately helping the MAN ~ to succumb to the temptation before them.

 

OUR lives today are FILLED with TEMPTATIONS of every kind … and NOT ALL temptations are BAD … some, in fact, are WONDERFUL and MOVE us to new levels of life / abilities /  understanding of US & WORLD    … our relationships with EACH OTHER & GOD.

 

TEMPTATIONS for many = opportunities for evil

 

·        Stealing for pleasure OR profit

·        Intentionally using others for personal gain

·        Lie-ing & cheating to further self / cause

·        Killing of life OR dreams to eliminate rival

         

TEMPTATIONS in every shape & size … not ALL bad:

 

·        In midst of personal crisis … temptation to allow distractions to overwhelm us ~ RESULT: excuse to shirk our responsibilities

·        An enticing “once-in-a-lifetime” offer appears … temptation to just reach out and grab it … with Scarlett O’Hara attitude: I’ll think about the consequences tomorrow!”

·        Amazing life-changing opportunity … temptation to weigh options / agonize over it / hope it will disappear so we DON’T have to decide … only to lament for years to come

 

 

Also WONDERFUL temptations that come into our lives … ones that STRETCH our pre-conceived notions … MOVE us and our world into NEW DIMENSIONS …

 

·        Opportunity opens up to experience an event / become the person we have been called to do / be … weighing options, we jump at tempting offer

·        Accepting a tempting offer to join a team / group whose words and actions can begin the movement that will provide equality / opportunity for ALL ~ even if accepting that offer changes your own / family’s level of personal comfort

 

IOW:  Leaping at ANY / ALL cost VS Taking a LEAP OF FAITH.

 

IOW:  Deciding the motivating factor:

                    Me ~ Myself ~ and I … OR

          Creator / Redeemer / Holy Spirit

 

DIFFERENCE:  Giving into that tempting offer through a mighty Leap of Faith ~ brings God into the mix … allowing God’s call to initiate our actions.

 

And, blessedly, God has given us the Freedom to Choose which path / option / possibility we will follow.

 

·        Our God who sees all AND knows all … HAD to know what would happen when He planted that tree in the Garden …

o      When He commanded MAN to NOT eat from the tree of knowledge of good & evil

·        Our God who knows us inside and out presents us with a multitude of options for HEARING and CARRYING out His call in our lives.

 

AND, as with MAN and WOMAN in the Garden …

 

·        God sets the limits for us with each opportunity that He offers.

o      NOT to continually TEST us …

o      To PROVIDE safe parameters WITHIN which we can ACCEPT & FULFILL that offer.

§        Parents set limits so children can learn new skills and SAFELY mature & grow along each phase of their life

§        God also provides us with the limits within which we can SAFELY learn & grow ~ then serve & call others

·        God’s limits also offer us everything that we will need for each phase of our journey …

o      End of Chapter 3 … before expelling MAN and WOMAN from Garden … God made garments of animal skins to replace the flimsy fig-leaf clothing / covering that MAN and WOMAN had made

 

For our journey … for our protection … in the face of life’s tough decisions …

·        God removes our flimsy and fragile garments of fear and doubts and uncertainty

·        God clothes us with the strength of His  GRACE and BLESSINGS and LOVE … the best protection that anyone could ever hope for along wild and scary and exhilarating ride that we call life.

 

And, for the blessings of His presence, may we be eternally gratefully, with the prayer of “Thanks be to God!” forever on our lips.

 

                                                           Amen.