The Same Old Story
Deuteronomy 11:26-28
“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God …”
Go back in time with me to the beginning of human history to that scene described by Moses in Genesis 2:9 &16: “The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil … And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat of it you will certainly die.” That singular choice in Eden set the tone for the entire drama of redemption to come. In fact, that’s why the story of Adam’s fall is bigger than mere history; it’s fable, too. Not in the sense that the story isn’t fact, but in the sense that the facts relay the deepest, most central theme of our cosmic struggle. Think of it: isn’t the tale of a garden at the center of the universe, where life is abundant and
free, where God meets with man and woman, and where a moral choice determines whether they’ll eke out an existence in the shadows or live in His light our story still today?
Philosophers and sages from every tribe, tongue, and nation have tried to uncover the meaning of life, dancing around the ruins of Eden as it were, searching for the gated entrance, hoping their volumes of words and theories will metamorphosis into keys, but not finding the heart of the Garden: always approaching the question from the outside looking in, rather than from the inside looking out. And it’s always been so simple. The meaning of life is found in a rule, and the rule gives us a choice, and that choice determines whether we’ll receive the blessing of God’s favor or the curse of His disapproval. For us, it will determine whether our next twenty-four-hour advance is marked by a peace that passes understanding or internal war.
God’s voice is calling yet again through these holy pages, friend, bidding us yet again to make our choice. Choose life!