Drunk With The Power Of Reason

"But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' 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." - Genesis 3:4-6 ESV

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a delight to the eyes and looks nourishing. The serpent hisses his invitation, 'No, It's not going to kill you. It is going to make you powerful.'

The comedian who thrives doing stand-up comedy get drunk with the power of bringing an audience outside the box. Have you ever been drunk with that power? I'm sure you have seen someone who has been.

Oh, The knowledge is pleasant to the eyes and looks nourishing but it is an illusion without substance and the end of it is death.

"For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." - Philippians 1:8-11 ESV

Yes. Jesus is a different tree. The nourishment we get from Him has real substance.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" - Psalm 139:23-24 ESV

"[Pe] Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple." - Psalm 119:129-130 ESV

"How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light." - Psalm 36:7-9 ESV

Thinking with God.

Having friendships with people where there is doctrinal rapport and not just intellectual overlap. Oh it is vital. It is life giving to have a friend who gives grace because of deep conviction.

Hidden in the Gospel is the possibility of doctrinal rapport. It is outside the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is truth free from infection. It is eternal and unchanging and if a person eats it they are born from above. The serpent divided mankind from below with his well placed words. Jesus makes something brand new with His.

Oh God search us. Illuminate our thinking so that we can identify and reject the fruit that will kill us and sit at the table that will truly nourish us. Make us people who speak words of grace that don't just weight right and wrong. We want to hear You and then speak what you have spoken to us. We want to be filled with your Spirit and let the days where we have been drunk with the power of reason fall forever into our past and be forgotten.

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