20 Adam  named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.REFLECTIONSWritten by James DavidsonGod shows kindness to the rebels by making them clothes (v 21). Thank God for the many ways he shows undeserved kindness to us forgiven rebels.God had warned the man that the consequence of eating would be death (Genesis 2:17). Satan had scoffed at the idea (Genesis 3:4), but here God ensures that the death penalty will be enforced (v 22-24). Human beings will no longer have access to the tree of life. From this moment, every human being will die physically. Here we see the enormous consequence of Humanity’s rebellion against God. This is the reality we live with daily. We are reminded of it every time we hear of someone dying. It hits home every time we attend a funeral. Our friends, relatives, church members and work colleagues die. We will die, unless Jesus returns first. We are part a rebellious race and that is why we all die.But there is a glimmer of hope here. God does not destroy the tree of life. He just denies access. Could it be that God in his goodness will one day make access available again? The rest of the Bible is the story of how God did just that. Trusting in Jesus’ death opens the way for us to gain access once again to the tree of life. And so in the New Testament, as John gives us a guided tour of the Jerusalem to come, he includes this description: ‘On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.’ (Revelation 22:2) Rejoice in glorious hope!QUESTIONWhat was the consequence of disobeying God? What would it have been like if they had obeyed God instead?ABOUT THE AUTHORJames is an Assistant Minister with our Bossley Park morning congregation.