I gave up sugar back in August. If it wasn’t found in fruit, I pulled it from my diet. Y’all, I even took it out of my coffee–that one took some adjusting. Around Christmas time and my birthday, I allowed myself to splurge on celebratory cake, or favorite treat. Then I was back at it. I know it’s not for everyone, and I didn’t even feel like it was a command from God forever, but I think he has rendered some things out of my life as a result of my agreement that really needed to go.
I feel so clear headed and energetic without the daily sugar rush and crash. I’ve actually come to enjoy it.
But this last week for reasons I don’t know, I took two bites of a cookie, ate 7 jelly beans, (yes, I counted them) and half of my husband’s scoop of ice cream–he didn’t even stop me. I didn’t feel guilty or ashamed. I was more confused, wondering why I did that at all after all this time. What prompted me to lay aside my commitment and have a momentary splurge?
Here’s where I landed: I simply missed the taste. I was craving something even though I had already agreed I didn’t really want it. But then it was before me. And without an alternative, I bent. What is my problem? What is our problem? We’ve been doing this since the garden. God gives us these choices all the time, and we choose foolish ends, to our own demise, for what? A taste of something that we don’t really even want.
Genesis 2:8
“There in the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
I never considered that these two trees were near each other. Sure, in artistic renderings of the garden often these two trees will be placed together, but I hadn’t really considered the proximity of the two together. It’s as if Jesus is offering us an opportunity at every turn, to choose him, his life, his nature, over that of the Tempter. It’s as if he’s saying, always, “There is something else, something better, something original. You are never without an alternative. My manifest presence, my life, is the other option.”
When given the choice, why do we EVER choose anything besides His life made visible in us? Why do we choose phony substitutes over the sweetness of life spent with Jesus?
Our Gardener has a beautiful plan for us. He says, the Kingdom of God is at hand. It’s as if He’s saying, “Put out your hand. It’s this close to you. It’s within your reach.”
And, yes, so is the kingdom of this world. They sit near to each other still, they are in proximity to one another, within reach all the time.
So, what will we reach for–life, godliness, rest, wholeness, peace, joy, blessing, which is the fruit of being a disciple of Jesus? Or will we reach for what satisfies right in this moment? It’s so close you can taste it. What will we truly miss if we choose the temporary satisfaction of this world? We miss him.
He is the sweetest of loves. Let’s taste and see.