From Eden 'Til Now

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths."
(Genesis 3:6-7)

"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."
(1 John 2:15-17)

From Eden 'Til Now

Lord, I confess the same disease

That chose the wrong between two trees

"The lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes

And boastful pride of life" -- these lies

They tempt my heart from all Your good

T'ward all, instead, which drew Your blood

Upon the cross, that barren tree

Where You bore all our misery.

But since my sins have drawn it forth

Cleanse me in it; waste not its worth!

And since myself

They pierce, as well

There, for my good

Inject Your blood

'Til it replaces all my hell

With all of You, and makes me well.

-------------------------------------------------------

This began as a prayer of repentance,
based on the quote from 1 John 2:15, but since the evils mentioned in that passage exactly parallel the temptations which cause Eve to take and eat the forbidden fruit in Genesis 3, the connection was fairly easy to make. I may, perhaps, revisit and expand the poem, if the Lord allows and enables me to, in order to more fully include/make plain some of the various parallels. In any case, I think it is a worthwhile connection to make, since it seems to me that it is always through one or more of those three pathways which our temptations come. This is not to say that we must reject any and all forms of physical pleasure, visual beauty, and pleasant life circumstances (far from it: We are called to delight and rejoice in those as gifts from God, which call us to worship Him!), but that we must always be carefully on our guard against evil, "bringing every thought captive to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5), using, seeking, and delighting in things in a way that accords with His will, receiving things as His gifts on His terms, rather than trying to get them on our own terms, for our own selfish reasons.

That is a lot, in fact, of what it comes down to: Will we submit and humble ourselves in patience and obedience to receive things from God on His terms, or will we try to get them our own way, on our terms? If we admit that God knows best, desires our good, and that "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17), then we must also teach ourselves to act that way, by seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), rejecting everything that seems pleasing (to our flesh, our eyes, or our pride) but requires disobeying or dishonoring God, so that we may receive from Him what is truly good, in His time and in His way. It will be worth it. It is already worth it. It is always worth it -- because, "blessed (happy) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8), not only fully and completely in the age to come, but even now, ever more clearly, in this age do those who seek Him in purity come to see Him in themselves, in others, and in all things and circumstances. And for those who are being made pure and holy as He is pure and holy, to see Him is to know Him, and to know Him is perfect joy.