Genesis is the very first book of the Bible. It answers so many questions about how we got here (God created us), why we’re here (to fellowship with God and live for Him), and so many other important things. In the very first verses, it tells us that God created us and everything around us.

In the beginning, God made a beautiful, perfect world, and He made the first people, Adam and Eve, to live in it. They were supposed to have children and fill the earth with people who would love and glorify God and enjoy the perfect world that He had made.

In Genesis 2:8-9, it tells us all about a beautiful garden that God made for them.

And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

God filled the garden with trees that were beautiful to look at and good for fruit. They had everything they needed, and it was beautiful and perfect. Right in the middle of the garden were two trees. One was called the tree of life and one was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Imagine living in a place like that – perfect and beautiful with no sorrow or suffering, no sin or death, just beauty and light and everything that is good.

The Choice Between God’s Truth and Satan’s Lies

In Genesis 2:16-17, God gave Adam and Eve an instruction and a warning.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

We see that God told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They could eat all the other beautiful and delicious things in the garden. But He told them if they ate of that one tree, they would die. So He told them, “Don’t eat from that one.”

There were two choices. God was very clear about what the choices were and about what would happen if they made them. He wanted to help them avoid death and suffering by making the right choice and wrong choice clear.

For a while, Adam and Eve obeyed God. They lived very happily, enjoying the wonderful garden that God had made for them, doing what they were supposed to do. And they lacked nothing. It was wonderful.

But one day they made a terrible choice. You see, Satan hates God and everything that’s good. Everything he says is a lie. One day he visited the garden. He was trying to make Adam and Eve sin so that they would suffer and be separated from God. He told Eve that if she ate the fruit of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she wouldn’t die. It was the exact opposite of what God had said.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (Genesis 3:4)

There weren’t subtle differences here. God said, “If you eat it, you’ll die.” And Satan said, “If you eat it, you won’t die.”

Adam and Eve had to decide who they would believe. Sadly for them and all of us, they chose to believe Satan even though he was lying. They ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and immediately found out that God had been right. Right then they started to die spiritually and physically. Spiritually they died inside and were separated from God. Their sin made it so that they couldn’t walk with God in the perfect fellowship they had known before without a Savior. And physically they started to die as their bodies started to experience pain and suffering for the first time until eventually they died.

Jesus Reopens the Choice Between Eternal Life and Death

But God didn’t want people to choose death. He wanted them to choose life. That’s why He had warned them and instructed them not to eat of that tree. So God sent Jesus, His own Son, to reopen that choice of life so that we can choose life today.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Jesus came and died the death that we deserve for the sinful choices that we’ve made. Just like Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God told them not to eat, we’ve done things that God has told us not to do, too. We’ve lied and stolen and so many other things that God said are sin and bring death. But Jesus died the death we deserved for these sins and rose again so He can offer us life.

Now we face the same choice today that Adam and Eve faced then. We can listen to the lies of Satan and do it our own way and try to be good enough on our own. Or we can listen to the truth of God and come through Jesus Christ, asking for forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. God says that He is the only way to come to God and live.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

God gives us the same option between life and death as Adam and Eve had, but we can make a different choice than they made. Just like Adam and Eve, our lives will show which choice we make. For them, it was whether or not they ate the fruit. For us, it’s whether or not we trust in Jesus for salvation.

If you haven’t done that, won’t you come to Jesus today? He is ready to receive you, to give you His everlasting life. Ask Him to save you, and He will. Just like His promise was true to them, His promise is true to you. He will save you if you ask.

Choosing What’s Right Every Day

Once you have come to God and trusted in Jesus alone for eternal life, you have to choose every day how you’ll live. Your choices can’t take away your salvation or make God stop loving you. (I’m so thankful for that!) But wrong choices do bring bad consequences and steal away the eternal rewards that God wants to give you. While choosing to believe and obey God brings the blessings of His presence and leads to eternal reward.

Over and over through life you choose between the truth of God and the lies of Satan. There are so many examples of these choices, but here are two to show how it works.

Example: Anger

The first example is, what do you choose to do when you’re angry? Will you say whatever feels good in the heat of the moment? Or will you hold your tongue and only speak words that Jesus would speak – of truth and kindness?

God says that speaking in anger will break relationships and get you into trouble. Satan says it feels good and you don’t have anything to worry about. Sound familiar?

If you listen to Satan, you’ll find that God was right, just like Adam and Eve did. Speaking in anger will break relationships and cause trouble for you. If you say whatever you’re thinking when you’re angry, it will lead to broken relationships and lost opportunities.

But if you stop and think about what God would want you to say and then hold your tongue or say something good, you’ll find that it brings peace and blessing. You may not always see these results in the moment, but over time you’ll find how right God is just like Adam and Eve did.

Example: Lying or Telling the Truth

Another example is choosing to speak the truth or tell lies. God says that speaking the truth brings freedom and blessings in the long run, while speaking lies will get you tangled up in a web that leads to sorrow and shame. Satan, on the other hand, loves lies. He was the first liar and will try to convince you that lies will get you what you want and keep you out of trouble.

For a moment, if you choose Satan’s path, it might look like he was right. You might get away with something or get what you want for a little while. But it won’t last forever. In the end, you’ll find that God was right. Eventually, you’ll get caught, and things will be even worse for you, and people won’t trust you. And, even if you’re never caught by other people on this earth, lies will still bring consequences and God knows all about them.

So, like always, God is right. Lying brings sorrow and shame, but speaking the truth – even if it’s hard or painful in the moment – will bring freedom and blessings. That’s why God instructs us to tell the truth and not tell any lies. He wants what’s best for us.

Making It Real

As we’ve seen, there are always two choices. There’s God’s way or Satan’s way. God’s way or the world’s way. Life or death. Just like Adam and Eve had to choose whether or not to eat the fruit, you have to choose today whether you’ll go the right way or the wrong way.

Jesus gave so much to give you the choice of life and blessing. Won’t you choose it today? Trust in Him alone, and then choose to do what’s right every moment, every day, so that you can walk in God’s blessings instead of in the shame and suffering that sin will bring. God’s promises and warnings are always true. So choose to believe Him and do what He says is best for you.

3 Ways to Choose God’s Path This Week

Here are three ways you can choose God’s way this week:

1. Decide now that you will always believe God’s warnings and promises

2. Decide now that you will always do what God says is right

3. When you’re tempted to do wrong, stop and think about what God says about the choice, remember what the wrong choice cost Adam and Eve, and choose to do what’s right

Devotional Poem

Here’s a poem I wrote about making the choice to follow God.

What Will You Choose?

Each day we face a simple choice
For darkness or for light,
For life or death, for truth or lies,
To do what’s wrong or right.

In Eden, too, the choice was made
To trust the Lord or not;
They ate the fruit, chose death and pain –
And that was what they got.

But Jesus came and took our death
To offer life once more;
Now you must choose it for yourself
For He’s the only door.

And then each day we face a choice
Of who we will believe –
God leads us right and offers life
But Satan will deceive.

So choose God’s path and trust His Word
To guide you in the light;
In time you’ll find that in the end
The Lord is always right.

Christina Joy Hommes

I hope it’s been helpful to you to see how different God’s path and Satan’s path is. Just like Adam and Eve had to make a choice all those years ago, you get to make a choice today. Will you trust God, or will you go your own way?

I hope that each time you will choose to trust God. As you do, you’ll find that His way is always right and best. May He bless you as you walk with Him today.