How long will you hesitate between two opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow Him;
but if Baal, follow him.
-1 Kings18:21
Dexter’s mother was a purebred Golden Retriever, but you’d never guess it by his solid black coat.
His imposing size, deep bark, and huge white teeth make most people hesitate before approaching this behemoth.
They shouldn’t worry, though. Dexter is a gentle giant. Although he has the ability to wound or kill, it’s not in his nature. It was totally unnecessary for God to give him those giant canine teeth. He doesn’t have to hunt, and he swallows his food down without bothering to chew, anyway.
Current world theory would have us believe Dexter’s ancestors developed those teeth in order to survive the chaotic eons of evolution. This is the explanation given for why most animals have developed ways to hunt and defend themselves against attack.
Yet the book of Genesis paints a very different world in the beginning.
It appears the world was created with the capacity to live out two endings. The earth itself was filled with plants and their seeds, but in the pre-Fall world only the beneficial plants grew. Contrary to secular theories of early earth, animals were designed with the ability to defend themselves, but—like Dexter—had no need for them. There was no death, no need to kill, nothing to fear.
Humans were created with the ability to choose either to follow God or to refuse Him.
The universe was programmed with a biological clock that would only begin ticking if Adam and Eve chose to rebel.
Little did they know the fate of an entire planet rested upon their decision. They were presented two paths to follow: simple obedience to a God they did not understand, or submission to the promise of greater revelation and power. Life and death hung in the balance in the moment of hesitation before they plunged toward futility.
Thank God that Christ came to gain a better Eden for us, a garden without thorns where we can be near God always. A place where forever lives.
The serpent can’t enter this garden. But he haunts its edges, tormenting humanity. He tries to draw us away from the door to life with the same whisper he has used for ages: You will be like God….
Within you lies two paths. Today you can walk beside God or live among the thorns. Every choice you make drives you further down one path or the other. In that moment of hesitation when temptation breathes in your ear, remember what hangs in the balance.
Choose carefully.
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