Today’s Readings:
Genesis 2:4-9,15-17
Psalm 104:1-2,27-30
Mark 7:14-23
TWO WORDS spelt doom for humanity at the dawn of creation – FORBIDDEN FRUIT. This term has been used to describe so many things. At its core, it speaks to the heart of every relationship. Every true relationship is founded on trust. Where trust is lost, there is no viable relationship. This is the core message in the second Genesis account of creation.
GOD MADE MAN out of the dust of the earth and breathed life into him. The Psalmist says, “You take back your spirit, they die, returning to the dust from which they came. You send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the earth” (Psalm 104:29,30). In essence, we are alive because of the breath of God in us. God goes on to put man in charge of the garden which He created. The only challenge that man had to face was the issue of trust symbolized by a forbidden fruit. Not even the threat of death could dissuade man’s heart. But why set a trap when you know that the other would fall?
IT IS EASY TO BLAME GOD FOR THE FALL. Man was free to make a choice. The issue was not so much the presence of temptation in the garden. The problem was the ambition that fills the heart of man. Jesus says to his disciples that, “Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean” (Mark 7:14). It was man’s desire to be god that was his undoing and not the fruit. What is the content of your heart? WE WANT TO BE IN CONTROL. Every one of us. We frown when things do not go our way. We are angry at God when others make speedy progress and we appear to be battling with so many obstacles. “Why is God mean to me?” you would say. What is it that you have or wish to accomplish that is not from God? Our anger at God is because we cannot break away from Him. That already sounds like an unhealthy relationship.
YOU CAN BREAK AWAY FROM GOD and live a life, but you will certainly not be living your life. Your life is not yours; it is a gift from God. Any decision to live outside of God is doomed to failure. St Jerome Emiliano says, "God imparts the fullness of His love upon those who possess a deep faith and hope; for them he does great things." The only way to true and sure happiness is to ask the right questions:
What do you expect from me, God?
What must I do, God?
Teach me to do your will, God.
There is no other way to a life of joy and peace (that adds no sorrow) apart from God.
JUDE-MARY OWOH
Prayer:
Lord, I surrender my heart, mind, body and soul to You.
I am sorry that I have looked on your wisdom as punishment and your tests as torture.
I have decided to stop running away and I desire to run into your arms.
Teach me what I must do to fulfil your will for my life, through Christ your Son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.
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