subtle trap: partaking of the fruit of theTree of knowledge of good and evil.
Sometimes there are conversations we have with others that whn we leave, we feel our eyes get a bit smaller, and our souls a bit more weary (or maybe aa whole lot more wearier). And the content of the conversation, well, it is partly factual, partly perceptive. But most conversations are often like that - partly subjectve and partly factual. But this particular conversation, i said it was perhaps better to be in ignorance. But the reply I heard was "No. We need to know so we can protect. love protects." It sounded right, but it sat wrong in my spirit.
I came off the conversation, and my eyes were heavy, and my soul weary, and I wondered what was wrong? What caused the weariness? The fruit of this conversation seems to be weariness. I do at times hear a situations that people are in that are realy challenging but not with this effect. But what was it in this conversation that brought about the weariness? I was wondering.. and I asked the Lord what was wrong? Then the thought suddenly dawned on me, and I yelled out spontaneously, "I dont want to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. I want to eat of the fruit of the tree of life." I want life-giving conversations.
Knowledge of Good & Evil must be clearly distinguished from Life.
Life comes from loving people. Look at genesis 3:5.
Genesis 3
1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Genesis 3:4 - 5, "You wont die! the serpent hissed. God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil.
When we eat of the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - it will "cause us to die". In dying, we shall die. A slow death. A very subtle threat. We are just not created to partake of this fruit. It is not man's portion to become "like God to know everything." We are just not made for it. Our souls will overload. The very desire to "be like God to know everything - is destructive."
In eating from the Tree of Life, we function within boundaries set by the Lord. The Lord never made us watchdogs to watch over people's lives. He made us shepherd, to nurture, cherish, protect. but when it came to privacy, even the Lord respected our privacy, and never embarrassed us publicly. Goodness! Where did this thought that "we need to KNOW in order to protect" comes from? Yes, we need to know some things. But personal details of other people's lives - we do not! Let me put my foot down here. I dont want to go beyond.
No wonder the fruit of that conversation brought weariness on the soul. Now, by the mercy of God, the answer arrived, and I know where it went wrong. sigh. Lord, have mercy on us all. May we all partake of the tree of life, and not be subtly led to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Forgive us Lord. Forgive me.
I write this to you, Pram Girl, so you wont be subtly led by the nose again to the tress of knowledge of good and evil.
I came off the conversation, and my eyes were heavy, and my soul weary, and I wondered what was wrong? What caused the weariness? The fruit of this conversation seems to be weariness. I do at times hear a situations that people are in that are realy challenging but not with this effect. But what was it in this conversation that brought about the weariness? I was wondering.. and I asked the Lord what was wrong? Then the thought suddenly dawned on me, and I yelled out spontaneously, "I dont want to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. I want to eat of the fruit of the tree of life." I want life-giving conversations.
Knowledge of Good & Evil must be clearly distinguished from Life.
Life comes from loving people. Look at genesis 3:5.
Genesis 3
1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Genesis 3:4 - 5, "You wont die! the serpent hissed. God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil.
When we eat of the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - it will "cause us to die". In dying, we shall die. A slow death. A very subtle threat. We are just not created to partake of this fruit. It is not man's portion to become "like God to know everything." We are just not made for it. Our souls will overload. The very desire to "be like God to know everything - is destructive."
In eating from the Tree of Life, we function within boundaries set by the Lord. The Lord never made us watchdogs to watch over people's lives. He made us shepherd, to nurture, cherish, protect. but when it came to privacy, even the Lord respected our privacy, and never embarrassed us publicly. Goodness! Where did this thought that "we need to KNOW in order to protect" comes from? Yes, we need to know some things. But personal details of other people's lives - we do not! Let me put my foot down here. I dont want to go beyond.
No wonder the fruit of that conversation brought weariness on the soul. Now, by the mercy of God, the answer arrived, and I know where it went wrong. sigh. Lord, have mercy on us all. May we all partake of the tree of life, and not be subtly led to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Forgive us Lord. Forgive me.
I write this to you, Pram Girl, so you wont be subtly led by the nose again to the tress of knowledge of good and evil.
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