Genesis 2:16 & 17 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you are not to eat from the tree if the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will die."
There is a story (the I am just making up but I have seen it true) that a father never taught his children right from wrong, but when they did something wrong, he would severely punish them through beatings. They became battered and would cower in the corner when they heard their father coming. As they became older, the children turned into recluses always fearing they would do wrong and suffer for it. Truly this father was cruel. No one would like a father like him.
This is not God our father! From the beginning of creation he told his children what he expects, so when punishment comes, they knew why. We as Christians must read God's Word to understand what God desires from us. Reading the Old Testament in light of the New is necessary, but we must not forsake the instructions and examples of the Old Testament for Paul says the law taught him right from wrong (Ro. 7:7).
K and A, today's church cringes when someone says to follow the rules or that it is necessary to do this or that to please God. "Just love him and others," they say. But you will not know how to love God or your neighbor, if you do not read his commands written in his Word. Daughters, remember the Garden of Eden would still exist if Adam and his descendants would have followed as God commanded. Yet hope is real, because Jesus promises that we can now attain what was promised to them through him, everlasting life! Choose the tree of life!
~Dad
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