Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” 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 desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings. (Genesis 3:1-7)

When a parent sees a child break the rules, they often will ask, “Why did you do that?” While this would be helpful information, it is challenging to pinpoint because there is often not one clear answer, but many different reasons the child felt motivated and inclined to disobey. When we read the story of the fall, when sin entered the world, we can try our best to understand and pinpoint what went wrong, but the truth is, many things did. This temptation was specifically pointed at the core of our nature, to reflect God, and that desire was manipulated toward sin. The words of God were twisted, and ultimately, Adam and Eve made a decision that was compelling and felt right in the moment, unaware of the complexity of consequences that would follow.

What is most tragic about this situation is that Adam and Eve moved away from their Creator, the One in whose image they were made. Instead of asking for His help when they didn’t know what to do, or coming to Him when they had messed up, they tried to make their own way, to figure things out for themselves, and forgot their most basic need for God. When a child messes up, a parent would often love to be invited into those hard moments to guide and help with the hard things of life. Similarly, God has always been there to approach with our struggles, even when we mess up. As we wrestle with the evil in the world, or even the evil in our own hearts, He is always with us in the struggle to show us the way forward, following Him.

• What is an example of sin in your life? Can you totally pin down all the reasons you gave into that sin? Why is that hard to do?
• What are some of the things you can learn about the root of evil from this passage? What are some ways you see those things reflected in your own life right now?
• Pray and thank God for being present even in the struggles of sin and evil we face. Ask for help to look to Him as you wrestle with the evil you see in the world.