In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

— Genesis 2:9

In the beginning, as God developed his new world, he formed a garden in which he could live in loving partnership with human beings. God ­wanted humans to flourish, and he wanted creation to flourish through their care for it. In the Garden of Eden human beings lived together in harmony with the rest of creation, serving and communing with God.

There humans were free to eat from any tree they wanted—except one called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Maybe you know how this story goes—humans disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, bringing chaos into God’s good world (Genesis 3).

Why did they eat the fruit when they were told not to? Well, it all began with temptation and desire. They were tempted to think that the fruit would make them like God, knowing good and evil, and they began desiring what was forbidden. They were tempted to think that God was keeping good things from them.

In the Lord’s Supper, God is saying, essentially, “No, I am not keeping good things from you. See, just as I did long ago, I give you good things to eat, to heal you and to nourish you. By this gift from my hand, may you realize that you cannot flourish apart from my love.”

Father, thank you for your plans for us—not to harm us but to allow us to grow and flourish in your good world. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.