Our Daily Bread -- Shopping with Liam

June 23, 2015

Read: Genesis 3:14-19
Bible in a Year: Esther 9-10; Acts 7:1-21

He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. —Genesis 3:15

My son Liam loves to pick dandelions for his mother. To date, she hasn’t wearied of receiving them. One man’s weed is a little boy’s flower.

One day I took Liam shopping with me. As we hurried past the floral section, he pointed excitedly to an arrangement of yellow tulips. “Daddy,” he exclaimed, “you should get those dandelions for Mommy!” His advice made me laugh. It made a pretty good Facebook post on his mother’s page too. (By the way, I bought the tulips.)

Some see in weeds a reminder of Adam’s sin. By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve brought on themselves the curse of a fallen world—relentless work, agonizing birth, and eventual death (Gen. 3:16-19).

But Liam’s youthful eyes remind me of something else. There is beauty even in weeds. The anguish of childbirth holds hope for us all. Death is ultimately defeated. The “Seed” God spoke of in Genesis 3:15 would wage war with the serpent’s offspring. That Seed is Jesus Himself, who rescued us from the curse of death (Gal. 3:16).

The world may be broken, but wonder awaits us at every turn. Even weeds remind us of the promise of redemption and a Creator who loves us. —Tim Gustafson

Help us, Father, to find You even in the midst of all life’s pain and aggravations. Forgive us for so often overlooking the beauty You have planted everywhere.

Creation reminds us of the promise of redemption.

INSIGHT: After the fall, Adam and Eve were barred from the Garden of Eden by cherubim (angels). God then established a form of worship to teach the necessity of a Savior to regain access to His presence. Of the tabernacle and then the temple, God said, “I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim,” which were fashioned out of gold and stretched their wings over the mercy seat (Ex. 25:17-22). The reminder of God’s holiness and the need for sacrifice and mercy were central to Old Testament worship.

Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

You can make a difference.

Even the smallest donation helps reach people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible.

DONATE

Share With Your Friends