“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded 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.’” —Genesis 2:15-17What is the Answer?
by K.R. HardingEver since the beginning, as told in the Hebrew Bible, humankind has struggled with temptation, leading to our eventual eviction from the Garden of Eden.We were created in the holy image of our Maker, and yet our biblical fore-bearers, Adan and Hawwah, disobeyed Creator’s command not to eat any forbidden fruit.Everything God created was good: light, land and the sea, food to eat, night and day, the passage of time, animals and birds — but then, along came man, who ate fruit from the forbidden tree.How is it that we had everything we needed, but then, risked it all, only to court war, poverty, hunger and disease?What is the answer to our misery? Any hope of our redemption lies in Love, to reach out to our enemies in an homage of harmony, to seek shalom, to practice kindness in all situations.Love, and indeed, only Love, never fails!
