ENIGMATIC SIMPLICITY

In a previous talk, we referenced an enigma, about a chicken and an egg.

We related that to which came first, knowledge or wisdom?

Feel free to refresh yourself by revisiting that message at:

KNOWLEDGE OR WISDOM? — Benton T. Thompson III (bentonthompsoniii.com)

The story of the Garden of Eden also has an enigma in it.

In the garden, there were various kinds of trees, beautiful to the eye, and good to eat.

In the middle of the garden, there was a different kind of tree, called the Tree of Life.

The other tree of notoriety located near it, was called the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Both trees were quite exquisite and unique.

Adam was told that he could freely eat from all the other trees in the garden, except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

God said, “Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.”

As we know, Adam and Eve both ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Yet they did not die. What did God mean when he told Adam, “If you eat from it, then he would be dead?”

Therein lies the enigma: Is knowledge the forbidden fruit or does it deliver on its promise to unlock the mysteries we seek the answers to?

That is the question at hand.

Which of the two options would you have chosen, the Tree of Knowledge or the Tree of Life?

Even today, this is still a choice yet before us. Life or Knowledge?

Which should I choose?

Do I just keep living my life without regards for anything or anyone else?

Without concern for consequence or significance.

Carefree with meaningless immortality. Tumbling through time, day after day.

Or do I try to get as much knowledge as I possibly can in hopes that it will help me navigate through my life better? Is it true, the more I know, the better off I’ll be?

Shouldn’t I have an opportunity to choose for myself, whether right or wrong?

I want to make my own choices.  I don’t trust anyone to choose for me.

Which would you choose?

Perhaps since getting knowledge wasn’t really the death of Adam, maybe you’d choose that path.

Maybe you can get all the knowledge you need to make it. Afterall Adam survived!

Others might consider the carefree LIFE path option.

Do what you want - when you want. No accountability. No one to answer to.

No one to boss you around. I’M THE BOSS OF ME!

Which is the best choice? We can’t have both. We must choose.

Unfortunately, far too often we have chosen that forbidden path.

Whether the enemy beguiled me, or the inner me beguiled me. I know not.

Sometimes the best answer, is the simplest answer.

Enigmatic yes, but that doesn’t mean the answer is not simple.

Sometimes we overcomplicate by overthinking a matter.

I personally would choose the other option presented, before these two.

What other option you might ask? Did I miss something here?

I would choose the first option. Adam’s life before.

Before he exercised his option to choose for himself.

You see, in the beginning when Adam was formed from the earth, God breathed life into him, and he became a living soul.

God put his arms around Adam, held him close, and resuscitated him. 

God gave him spiritual CPR or a Parturition of Spirit. PARTURITION OF SPIRIT — Benton T. Thompson III (bentonthompsoniii.com)

That means that prior to this interaction with God, Adam was a dead soul.

As a result of God initiating their relationship, Adam now had life.

He could see. He could sense. He could discern.

God and Adam would spend several hours together walking and talking in the garden.

Naked and transparent. No lies. No masks. No agendas. No pretenses.

Their fellowship time was so sweet, so personal, and so private.

Every day, all day. Just the two of them.

Wow! One could only image the things they must have talked about.

Remember when God told Adam if he ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that he would be dead?

Notice God didn’t say that he would die, he said he would be dead.

As a result of Adam’s choice, he and his wife were evicted from paradise, he was resigned to a life of back breaking work, and they were homeless.

Albeit those were bad things, yet it was not the death that God spoke of.

They lost that precious fellowship time they enjoyed with God.

Prior to his decision to eat from the tree, Adam walked with God aka Wisdom, aka The Ancient of Days every day.

He was receiving wisdom and insight on a regular basis.

So, his eating from the Tree of Knowledge did represent a death.

A death to the Wisdom that he received every day. A death to his closeness to God.

A death to living life as he once knew it.

Adam ended their daily communion because of his thirst for knowledge.

He just wanted to know more. What could be wrong about that?

Knowledge is knowing, Wisdom is knowing what to do with what you know.

Now that we know, do we know what to do with what we know?

Adam forsook wisdom for knowledge. He missed the part about making wise choices vs. unwise choices. He didn’t know what to do with what he had.

Adam regretfully found out that a relationship with God is better than all the knowledge in the world.

Thank you, to the first Adam, for providing us with your wisdom and experience.

Thank you, to the ultimate and last Adam, for providing us New Life.

“The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Now we can go outside, in nature, in the garden, and God will be waiting there for us again.

Ready to walk and talk with us just like in the beginning.

He will give us wisdom because he is the Ancient of Days.

So go outside somewhere after receiving this message. God is waiting for you!

                                                            This is a Thompson Truth