By Joe Smith
Are you satisfied? That’s a full question and it can take on many forms; appetite, on ice performance, artistic creation, job placement. How about just life in general? It’s a question that can be hard to answer on some days and that’s because we have some faulty wiring in our brains. This faulty wiring has been embedded in there since the day we were born. We can trace the source to the first human in history: Adam.
We meet Adam in the first pages of the Bible, which makes sense considering he is the first person ever created. The Bible doesn’t state Adam’s goals and dreams, but that is understandable considering he was living in paradise in a sinless world. Everything was perfect and once God created Eve to be his “helper” it was all he needed (Genesis 2:18, 21-22). Heaven on earth! It must have been amazing. He lived in the glow of God’s glory at all times. His responsibility was simple; take care of the garden (v. 15). God gave some specific instructions to Adam too and one of those was a rule. They had lots of food in the garden, but there was one tree that they were not allowed to eat from; the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (v.16, 17). It’s classic! Tell someone: “Whatever you do, don’t push the red button.” Guess what button they now want to push?
Satan was also in the garden and began whispering to Eve about this tree and all the positives that would result from eating from it. He convinced her that no negative effects would result from eating even though God told Adam they would “surely die” (v. 17) Nevertheless, she ate it, brought some to Adam, and he ate it too! But why? They both had everything they could possibly ask for, and somehow that didn’t stop them from wanting more.
From the outside looking in it is easy for us to sit back and wag our finger at them for making what seemed to be a really dumb decision. However, we are just as guilty of wanting more and more as they were. We want more ice time. We want just a little bit more money. We crave a little more fame or success. If you think about it, the list of wants is pretty big. The fact that we are so easily ensnared in our desire for more seems pretty grim, but as Christians we have such great news! Although Adam brought death through sin into the world, Jesus came later and he brought life through his death to all who believe (Romans 5:18).
We can never focus enough on that fact. Whenever we get frustrated or feel that there is something missing we can turn to Christ. He is our strength and this is showcased in our best and worst circumstances of life (Phil. 4:12-14). Our ultimate satisfaction will be attained when we finally get home to heaven, but Jesus is here for us now and we can still experience his love and peace here on earth. “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life’” (John 4:13-14).
