Finding reasons can be an awesome experience ...we find good reasons, and there are awesome reasons. Yet, reasons also provide nourishment for excuses and failures.
Though failures can be awesome too, if not aligned with excuses. None of us are failures as people ...as God created us in His image.
We can look at failures as Thomas Edison did ...if something doesn't work, we can just try something else.
But, reasons can also cause doubt.
Sometimes we don't need reasons.
I am just human, so I know I've slipped up more than a few times, and in frustration, I've repeated a phrase that is not one of my favorites: "Because I said so!!"
I've said that during times when I didn't want to take time to explain. Yet, there are also times when neither do I fully understand ...and if they ask "Why!", it does not come across too well if I say I don't know why. (Though in a different sense, admitting we don't know something is often the preferred way.)
And in some of the cases, I guess I could say, "Because God says so!!" I wonder if that comes across any better when we are speaking to those whom we are attempting to raise up in the way they should go, especially if they are young and know me better than they know God. (Proverbs 22:6)
This may be difficult to discern from moment to moment, and what applies to what situation. I may be making it more difficult right now, but I have a ways to go yet ...not just with life, but with this blog. Have no fear ...I will attempt to clarify.
There are times we don't need reasons. And my saying that may give reason for someone to say I'm not reasonable, I'm without reason, or beyond reason.
When I say, "I will clarify what I mean," ...I'm not using the Urban Dictionary's definition of clarifying, where it is said to mean that I will completely walk back on something I recently stated, and falsely claim that I meant the exact opposite. I will give an example of a time or situation where we don't need a reason, and that is when God says something. That should be reason enough ...to at least make an effort to obey. God saying it should be reason enough.
But, I will give an example when God did give a reason, and it still did not get accepted as reason enough ...even with the reason, which was a significantly big reason. And if you haven't guessed it by now, it was when God told Adam not to eat from a certain tree. God did give Adam a reason ...He told him he would die.
Eve was in the Garden of Eden. She was fully aware of which tree she wasn't supposed to eat the fruit of ...and she repeated the reason was that God said she'd die. We can guess she wasn't told how long it would take her to die, or even what particular symptoms she'd experience form the kind of death she'd face. I don't like the idea of any form of death, but even the thought of it would seemingly be enough not to desire one particular fruit ...especially when other fruit is plentiful. But, that wasn't the issue, was it??
I love Dad, and I know he loves me ...yet, I still doubted that one claimed ability he said he had, of mushroom identification. We'd be walking in the woods, and Dad would point out wild mushrooms ...stating he knew the difference between the edible ones and poisonous ones. Dad is a great man in my eyes, on so many levels, but he is not infallible like God ...so, I chose not to eat the mushrooms.
I guess my Dad was once again right ...he knew his mushrooms. And we helped him celebrate his 96th birthday last week. Lasagna was the main meal ...and though I think it would have been good with mushrooms in it, it didn't have any.
I pause for a moment here to contemplate the loving relationships I have ...which I am thoroughly grateful for. Mom isn't mentioned in the present here because she lost a long struggle with cancer a couple years ago. Though I should add how great a person she was, and how great they were together. Their marriage has been such a blessing to us children through the years.
Yes, it is much about relationships. In the Garden of Eden, Eve didn't even know the creature attempting to lead her, casting doubt upon which her and Adam had held strongly to. They hadn't eaten the fruit they'd been told to avoid. Eve even told the creature that they were clearly not supposed to eat it. Maybe Adam added, "Don't even touch it!" I can see myself saying that.
I'm reminded of the lyrics of a song, where the refrain is "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey ..." Trust is not always immediate, yet at this point they had refrained from eating that fruit. They must have thought death was a good enough reason. But, that reason was challenged by another reason. There was an ulterior motive behind it all, but it wasn't God's.
Yet, the deception was that God was hiding something from them ...something desirable which would vastly improve their lives. And suddenly, God's love entered the realm of doubt in Eve's mind.
Soon it was clearly seen that God was not hiding something from them ...and Adam & Eve were now hiding. But, God's love was certain to reach out to them. God did not have to seek them, as He knew where they were ...and what they had done.
God's love still waits for us ...and He reached out to us, committing the death of Jesus, waiting for us to reach out in return and embrace His love.
The death from not obeying, and eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil ...and the death of Jesus, not only clearly showing the way of death, but now showing the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
So, not only was death shown through sin, now the way to life was shown ...eternal life.
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