
“Satan can’t create. He can only take good things and twist them.”
Our pastor said this at the end of the service, just before his final blessing. And it was just the thing I needed to hear.
Lately, I have wondered. How much twisting is that sneaky snake really capable of doing?
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made…
Evil creature, lurking among the trees of the garden, asking his questions—
What did God tell you?
Did he say you couldn’t eat from the trees of the garden?
Well, no. Actually. That’s not really what He said.
But that snake was a very crafty liar. When he whispered his lies to the humans in the garden, his words were slippery. And confusing. “God knows if you eat from that tree you’ll be just like him.”
Time out.
When God created. There—in His perfect Eden Garden. What was it He said as He created those humans? They will bear my image.
They will Be. Like. Me.
The rotten liar. Psss… eat the fruit so you can be like God, knowing good from evil.
And the humans looked at the fruit, and they saw that it was good. (There in a garden, created by God, and ALL of it was VERY GOOD.) And the fruit, in a way, was asking this question. Who will you trust? The Creator? Or the serpent?
Would I actually trust a snake?
God help me.
Last weekend we told this story to children. Kyle and I and another volunteer at New Hope Church. There was a boy, a bit older than the others, and paying attention. He raised his hand, a light in his eyes. “I always thought—I wouldn’t have done it. Adam and Eve were stupid to believe that snake.”
But the kid goes on to tell us how finally, just now, he’s seeing something. (Lightbulb Moment.) The twisted truth and confusion of lies.
“I guess I can see now, why they did it.”
Right?!
Lately. I don’t know. I’ve been in a weird space. Self talk or hearing voices. Fragile. Vulnerable, maybe, to those convoluted lies. Especially aware of my limitations. But not in the good way that keeps you humble. More like I’ve got a snake in my ear…
You are low capacity
Unskilled
Left out
Bound by fear
psssssss…
I know, right? It seems so obvious typed out here. But somehow not so much when it’s in my ear.
God is the Creator of everything good. I know this.
Every. Good. Thing.
The snake creates nothing. But lies.
I’m in a weird space, maybe, or a weird season. Boys grown and family growing. Empty nest. MIL. (Mother-in-law, or mother-in-love, as I heard an acquaintance redefine it. Either way…) Exploring vocations. Every day awaiting and dreading an editor’s return of my manuscript.
What did God tell you??
Did he really say…
NO HE DIDN’T.
No.
Every. Good. Thing. He created and He gave it. And created ME. In His very good image.
Makes me A PRIEST in His very good kingdom.
Returns to the TREE, and He says I can eat it.
Defeated that snake. Sets me free.
THIS IS THE TRUTH.
And it is all I need.
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