All men have a family tree. When we ponder the family tree and consider the good and bad qualities we may have inherited, we often look to the qualities of our fathers and grandfathers. In my case, and in the case of many others, my father was an alcoholic and abusive. Yet, my grandfather was a humble, godly man. As a young man, I fought the desires of my flesh, fearing I might become like my father. Instead, I had a desire to develop the character of my humble, loving, grateful, God-fearing grandpa. However, as men, our family tree goes back much further. If we want to be the men God has called us to be, we must consider where our family tree truly starts. All men’s family trees stem back to Adam. The blood in our very veins stems back to the first man. On the sixth day, God created Adam. Yes, our family tree started with Adam. He’s your great, great, great… grandfather! Why is this important? Because we inherited every good and bad thing he did. So, as his offspring, we have the opportunity to make the same choices he did when he was in the Garden. Before we jump into the story, here are some facts: Adam’s name in Greek means red earth! Yes, from the very material God made Adam, he got his name.
Genesis 2:7
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
God created Adam from the earth and planted him in the Garden to live a life of harmony and to take care of it and have fellowship with Him. This was not just any garden––it was flawless. With trees, fruit, and beauty—perfectly fit to live out eternity. Basically, the Garden was like Heaven on earth! God created man (Adam) to live in a perfect place He created. There would be no death, and man would live in complete harmony with God. Sounds great, sign me up! But we must know the details of the failed plan to avoid derailing our life here on earth and where we will spend eternity. In the Garden, there were two trees: The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of Life represented eternal life with God—no death. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represents death and separation from God.
Genesis 2:16-17
And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Why two trees? And why is this important to us as men? The two trees represent CHOICE! All of us, including Adam, were given a choice to live in obedience to God, which brings life and fruit. However, our disobedience brings death, and separation from God. From the beginning of time, God has wanted to bless His creation. Yet, we as men have a choice to either abide in Him or not! To abide means to dwell, to remain under the care of a wonderful Father. But, like Adam, He gives us a choice. That choice is to either abide and bear much fruit or reject God and bear the fruit of death. All sin leads to death. Not some, ALL! This is not just physical death, but the death of not living in harmony with our Creator. In Genesis 2:16, God told Adam to eat any fruit, but He warned him not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Then, in verse 21, God said, ‘I’m going to make Adam a helper (Eve).’ Think about this: a beautiful garden, delicious food, animals, and yes, a helpmate. Everything God did was to bless man, even giving us a woman! But then, in Genesis 3, Satan entered the picture disguised as a snake, and went to Eve. Why did Satan go to Eve instead of Adam? Because Adam heard God’s warning, while Eve did not. Men, this is one of the first illustrations that we are to lead our wives in love as spiritual leaders. Satan, in the form of the snake, went to Eve and questioned God by challenging if God ever said not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Why is this important? Because Satan’s most prominent tactic is to create doubt in the Word of God. If Satan can create doubt in our lives, then it makes us wonder about the benefits of following Him. God told Adam ‘if you eat from the tree, you will die.’ Yet, Satan said, ‘Surely you won’t die. In fact, your eyes will be open!’ In other words, God is keeping the good stuff from you. He’s holding back! Don’t you want to be like God? When Eve heard this, and saw the tree was pretty, she desired the wisdom of God, so she ate.
Genesis 3:6
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Notice, Adam didn’t stop or warn her. He didn’t say, ‘Eve, God told us not to. God said we would die.’ He didn’t stand in the gap! So, they both ate. Like us, God gave Adam a choice. This choice is to either honor Him in obedience and be blessed or reject Him and face the consequences of sin. This was the first sin committed, and it ushered in the separation between our ancestor Adam and God. He was then banned from the Garden (heaven on earth) and brought death to ALL men. This means Adam’s offspring (you and me), are subject to separation from God as well. Banned from the Garden and all its benefits. This means no relationship with God, and an eventual death. That’s what we have inherited. But guess what? Even our sins don’t stop God’s goodness! God knew what Adam would do because nothing surprises our Creator. He had a plan, and that plan was to redeem His children! He wants us back in the garden with Him and wants us to live in fellowship with Him forever and ever. He wants to permanently break the curse of sin and death! The old Garden was nice, but snakes were allowed to enter and tempt God’s creation. The new Garden has no temptations! No pain, no strife, no worries. Like the Garden, Heaven is made for God’s children! God’s plan was no mere backup plan. It included His great sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, on the cross for our sins. In other words, Jesus took our place for the very sins Adam, and we, bring into our lives. In light of that, we now get a CHOICE to have a relationship with God.
S.L. Thomas, RTM