The Lord who gives Life
“And the
LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were
pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the
tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Gen 2:9) People always
challenge us Christians: “If the tree of the knowledge of good and evil didn’t
exist in the Garden of Eden, our ancestors wouldn’t be tempted and sinned
against God.” After the fall of man, the sinful nature leads us farther away
from God so that we know nothing about the Creator, the Life Giver and His
loving kindness.
From the
six days of creation, we can appreciate the beauty of God’s preparedness. On
the first day, God created light, He separated the darkness and the light. On
the second day, God created the firmament Heaven by separating the waters
between the two layers of firmament. On the third day, God made the dry ground.
On the first three days of creation, God prepared a suitable environment for
living beings. God also created all kinds of plants on the third day. On the
fourth day, God created all the stars, the sun and the moon for dividing the
day from the night, and let them be for signs and season and for days and
years. All these are essential to our living and life. On the fifth day, God
created the abundant living creatures on the waters and all kind of birds in
the sky. On the sixth day, God made all the land creatures and insects
according to its kind on the earth. From this process of creation, it reflects
the wisdom and riches of God. When we study biology and the food chain of the
nature, it confirms the great design and the wonderful provisions of the
Creator. God prepared all things before He created the human being on earth.
Can we see the great love of God?
God
accommodated our ancestors in a beautiful Garden of Eden. They were assigned to
take care of the garden. They were free to eat from the trees and all kinds of
vegetables. God’s provisions were so wonderful. Since our ancestors had so many
options of foods, they should not choose the fruit from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. Moreover, God prepared a tree of life in the middle
of the garden. His intention was to provide an additional choice of life for
men so that their life would be more plentiful and perfect.
After the
fall, man lost the chance to receive the fruit of life. God set the cherubim
and a flashing sword back and forth on guard the way to the tree of life. He
did not want to see a sinful man live forever if he also ate the fruit of life
from the tree. If a man desires to receive life from the tree, he must go
through the judgment and death.
In the ancient
time, when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness to Canaan, God gave
them manna from the heaven and water from the rock. These miracles in the Old Testament
are the proofs to show us that God is the life provider. According to the
salvation plan of God, God prepared His Son Jesus Christ as the life of bread
from heaven. When His Son came to this earth, He was born as a baby on the
manger. To the sheep and cattle, the manger is a sign of eating and drinking. To
the lost sheep like us, baby Jesus in the manger is surely the bread of life
from God to this world. “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not
Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives
you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from
heaven and gives life to the world.’" (John 6:32-33) The Son of God went
through the judgment of the cross and death for us, He also raised from the
death; if sinner repents to God and receive Jesus Christ as his personal Savior,
he will entitle the eternal life.
“God has
saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but
because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus
before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the
appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2 Tim 1:9-10
By:
Daniel To