Is God a liar?
"Of course not!" "How could you say such a thing?" "That's preposterous, completely absurd!" you say?
Really? You're right of course. It is absurd and yet. . .
When is the last time you thought "I'm fat and ugly!"? How about "No one cares what I think. I'm stupid and have nothing of value to contribute!" Or "No one appreciates me. I give and give and give and no one even notices!" And "The only thing I'm good for is _________ (you fill in the blank!)". I could go on. It's a little like the old whine "Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I'm gonna eat some worms!!" isn't it?
There may be a small element of truth in each of those statements but they are NOT absolutely true! When did we start thinking this way?
Well, not to blame the devil for everything but, he started it!
Genesis 3:1-7 (MSG)
1 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"
2 The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. 3 It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'"
4 The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die. 5 God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil."
That snake was clever alright! He took God's words and twisted them first by saying "God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden, right?" The snake knew exactly what God had told them. (Gen. 2:16-17) 16And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17But (except) of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.' (Amplified Bible) That snake told her "God lied to you. He was trying to trick you!" when he said, "You will not die."
God's instructions were very clear. You may eat of every tree except... The woman spoke correctly when she answered the snake but the snake caused her to doubt the command by saying "You won't die!" He told the woman that God was trying to trick her because "God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!" (Gen 3:4) Why would God not want her to learn about good and evil or as the Message says it, "knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil."? Was God trying to keep her from being just like Him? If so, why does it say in Leviticus 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:15 (and several other places) "Be holy, because I am holy." In other words "Be just like me!" The snake accused God of jealousy. He convinced the woman that God didn't want her to be "just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil." Vanity. He played on her vanity and pride! He used vanity to throw Eve off the course of God's plan for her and all the children of Eve as well - US!
The snake is still preying on people's vanity and pride today. Those half truths about our looks or brilliance, worth and value are again the snake's way of making us doubt God. God said we are His treasured possession (Exodus 19:5 & Deuteronomy 7:6) Think about that! God owns EVERYTHING yet we are His treasured possession, "the apple of His eye" (Zechariah 2:8) The apple of his eye literally means "little man of his eye," referring to the pupil, a delicate part of the eye that is essential for vision and that therefore must be protected at all costs. (NIV footnotes for Deut. 32:10) It is an expression deep love. YOU are loved and precious to God Almighty. Not only does God want us to be "just like Him", He made it possible by sending Jesus, His only begotten son, to suffer death on a cross so we could overcome what "knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil" has done to us. We may not recover the innocence but we ARE declared innocent!
When God gave the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel, He told Moses to tell the people "If you will obey me fully and keep my covenant (agreement), then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Exodus 19:5 & 6) Once again it comes down to believing God - who cannot lie (Numbers 23:19) - and obeying His commands - that are given to protect us - and understanding that the snake is the father of lies (John 8:44) wanting to rob us of what he cannot have; life eternal WITH God.
Father, forgive me for the times I've believed the lies the snake whispers to me. I know You treasure me as I am, but I want to "reflect the Lord's glory, being transformed (changed forever) into (Your) likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18) I want to be just like you!
