More than
Just a
Good Answer
Good Morning Friends,
The Bible is supposed to be a book of answers but is seems to me in contains a lot of questions. Yesterday we looked at 100 New Testament questions that Jesus asked. Then we focused on two that related to Christ’s identity. Today we go back to Genesis to look at a few questions from the Old Testament with a reflection on them from the New that make us think about something More Than
Just a
Good Answer.
Scripture: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him,
“Where are you?”‘
Genesis 3:1-9 (NRSV)
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
Genesis 4:9 (NRSV)
For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
1 John 3:11-18 (NRSV)
Message: So what questions do you have about the Bible and God? Are they bringing you closer in love or separating you in fear? Today we look at some of the first questions of the Bible from Genesis. They are first because they are foundational. So when we find the answers to these questions, we might just find the answers to most of the questions of life. Here we find that questions are an important way of learning. The very first question in the Bible interestingly is from the Devil. That builds a bit of drama from the start. Here we see that questions are a way to be deceived. The first question of the Bible was this kind of question. The first three questions in the Bible are really interesting because they interrelate. They tell us what the key characters were thinking and set up dynamics. In Genesis 3:1 Satan asked Eve if God really said what she thought he said. His purpose then was to cast doubt on God and his Word. He’s still doing that today. The second recorded question is in Genesis 3:9 where God called to Adam asking where he was. God’s purpose was to seek man and have fellowship with him. He’s still seeking and calling for us today. The third question is found in Genesis 4:9 where a man asks God about our relationship to each other: Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” We still ask that question today when we shirk our responsibility to others. So do we love them or hate them? What if they hate us? Can we just “live and let live?” How does God want us to relate to others? So now for a time we are written into the story of good and evil and man and discover how it plays out in our world and lives. Our role friends is to be ready to be part of a blessed assurance of God’s presence through the Holy Spirit manifested in our actions and attitudes. The only reason we have hope is that we are a people with a heart for God and when we abide in the presence of the Holy Spirit it seems we also have a heart for people too. Here we find answers that matter.
Pray we know what God says. Pray we stay away from temptation. Pray we not try to hide our sins from God. Pray we not be tricked. Pray before we begin to answer a question we understand who it is who is asking. Pray we never allow the Devil to bring doubt about the goodness of God. Pray the answers we seek bring out the truth. Pray we realize that true love manifests itself in action and sometimes suffering. Pray we realize that answered prayers can hinge on a faith in us that is immersed in the Father’s love in us reconciling and healing us for Jesus’ purposes through the Holy Spirit. Pray we understand that there is a bit of good in the worst of us and a bit a bad in the best of us. Pray the family of God answers correctly.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 