Thursday Meditation - Off Limits

Off Limits

Genesis 2:15-17

Everyday we are reminded by signs to restrict access, show boundaries and warn us of danger.  Daily we notice signs such as: speed limit, no trespassing, only authorized personnel, caution and the home alarm signs.  There are times when these signs may have additional information to deter us further from access like beware of dog, danger high voltage wire or monitored by close circuit camera.  These signs and warning are not new, we’ve been accustomed since birth when our parents told us don’t touch that, don’t do this, be in before curfew, don’t allow anyone in the house, don’t talk to strangers, stay away from the bad kids and don’t engage in pre-martial sex.  All this off limit stuff have been posted visibly or told to us verbally.  This is where we find God and Adam.  In verse 17 God, told Adam you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  This was Adam’s verbal off limit warning.

What do we learn about God and the limits placed on Adam?

We learn God has given us all we need to grow, wants to protect us from everything but also wanted to give us the free will to make our own decision.  As we read verse 8-9, “The Lord God planted a garden in Eden…out of the ground every tree was pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”  Ironically, God surrounded Adam with everything that looked good but put limits only on one tree in the Garden of Eden. 

It seems like when we have everything we need we always want to obtain what is off limit to us.  The things that are off limit usually are the things we want to try and see why it was off limit in the first place.  When these limitations are place in our lives we are being told by God and our others, “I trust you to be mature enough to listen to what I’ve told you without having to take further actions to keep you away.”  Too often we allow our immaturity to ignore the signs and warning and when this happens we quickly realize why it is off limit in the first place. Let us remember if it is off limits and pleasing in appearance we must be mature enough to say I have everything I need, because not everything that is beautiful is good for us.

Prayer: God, we ask you to help us to mature spiritually so we can see and hear what is off limit in our lives.  Teach us to stand firm knowing you gave us all we need.