Read Genesis 3:1-8, Ps. 32:1-2,5-7, Mark 7:31-37
“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8)
At the heart of every temptation, we face is a challenge by Satan to disprove what God has said. In the first temptation, Satan made Eve believe that God was telling a lie; in that even though God said they would die, nothing would happen to her but instead her eyes would be open and she would be like God, knowing good from evil.
Take a look at what happened here and you would see a repeat of this in our own lives each time we are faced with temptation. First Satan tries to disprove what God has said, he makes us doubt God then he goes further to make us believe that there is something beneficial we stand to gain from sin.
Satan presents before us empty promises such as the pleasure we hope to get, the excitement of it all, the fun it promises, the hope of becoming richer, more beautiful, more powerful, and connected, and so on and so forth. We begin to assume that God is keeping these things away from us or that his commandments are restrictions to our enjoyment.
It is only after falling into sin that our eyes become open; then we get to see that Satan is the real liar and not God, that what we thought God is keeping away from us was never for our good and there is no happiness whatsoever in sin.
Having realized what they had done, Adam and Eve became ashamed and hid away from God. Their eyes had become open and they suddenly felt unworthy of God’s presence, they died to innocence. They could no longer approach God freely as before. God can never lie; He wasn’t joking when He said they would die if they ate of the forbidden tree.
God alone knows what is best for us hence his instructions for our lives contain the keys to true happiness. In the healing of the deaf and dumb man in our Gospel passage this morning, we see how much God cares about our good. Let us continue to believe that God means well for us; that his commandments are truly for our good.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, increase my trust in you daily that I may never offend you anymore. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saint Scholastica, Virgin. Bible Study: Genesis 3:1-8, Ps. 32:1-2,5-7, Mark 7:31-37).@Rev. Fr. Evaristus Abu