In the past five months, God has revealed Himself in new ways to me during this process called "parenthood." I know this may come as a shock to many of you, but I have come to find that babies are pretty much helpless. Who knew!? Andrew, my now five-month-old son, is no different. He relies on me and Emily to provide for his well-being every minute of every day. In a much greater sense, I am helpless: spiritually, physically, and emotionally. I need to rely on my Heavenly Father every minute of every day, too, if I want to be well-nourished inside and out.
As Andrew gets older, I know there will be times when I have to discipline him when he does wrong. I also know that the discipline will come out of a sense of me wanting what's best for him. It won't be fun for me or him while the discipline is taking place, but I know that it will pay dividends in the long run in order for him to learn right from wrong.
As I read Genesis 3, I see the same exact scenario that I just described playing out, but of course the stakes are much higher. We all know the narrative of how Adam and Eve sinned by eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, after He commanded them not to. In response to their sin, God banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. What is not often talked about, however, is the reason behind this banishment.
"Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Then the Lord God said, 'Look, the human beings* have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!' So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." (Genesis 3:20-24)
Banish is a harsh word, and not a word that's heard in our society a lot today because it is rare that you hear of anyone being banished from some place. In my mind, the word banish conjures up images of hurt feelings, anger, or divisiveness. So for me, it would be easy to assume that God is angry with Adam and Eve because of their sin, so his discipline is to banish them from paradise; end of story, right? Not exactly.
When you dig beneath the surface of God's discipline of Adam and Eve, you see a Father's love for His children. The reason God banished them was so that they would not be able to eat from the tree of life, which would then make them immortal. He even put in place mighty angels and a flaming sword to guard the tree of life, and to ensure that they could not partake of it. While I am not a bible scholar, it is clear that humans living in a state of sinful immortality was not God's plan for us. This would have sealed humanities fate of living in sin for all eternity, with no chance of redemption through Christ who would come later.
So, from the beginning, even in God's discipline we see His mercy. Even in His banishment we see His blessings. This is not only true in Adam and Eve's story, it is true of us today. Any good parent wants what is best for their children, and discipline is a part of that love. Parents see the big picture for their children, and while discipline is painful in the moment, it will benefit the child in the long run. How much more, then, can we can trust God and His discipline? He sees the big picture of our life on this earth and throughout eternity, and knows what is best for us. Let us trust Him, even when it is painful.
