Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then the Lord God said, ‘See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever’— therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, September 15, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This part of the story kinda bugs me. I don’t think God is so insecure that God was afraid human beings would suddenly be able to live forever and thus become their own gods. I mean, I would think God was smart enough not to even make these silly trees that could turn people into gods. So this is where I kind of shrug and say, “It’s just a story to explain why we’re not in paradise anymore.”
Yet God kicked the first humans out into a pristine and beautiful world that I would argue was paradise. The only issue was that they now had to contend with the basic difficulties of life rather than having everything handed to them.
So here we are. Are we still resentful that life isn’t easy and pain-free? Or are we appreciative of the incredible beauty and abundance of God’s creation, to the point where we are willing to do whatever it takes to preserve, protect, and nurture it?
How do I interpret the first humans’ expulsion from the garden by God?