Origin Story #13.3 of 21:

You may freely… but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

you shall not eat,

for in the day you eat of it you will die. (Gn 2:7)

One more list and we’ll turn the page:

            1.         vocation:         What God has called us to do—our responsibility

            2.         freedom:          Our God given freedom to explore and to name

            3.         prohibition:      God’s “No” placed right in the middle of things.

Freedom and Prohibition… All sorts of freedom, just one prohibition. Seems reasonable. Why this restriction? Why does God plant such a tree right in the middle of things? With such a big “Yes,” why does God have to speak his singular “No”?  Can we trust that God’s “No” is in our best interest? That it’s for our good and the good of God’s good creation?

When we turn the page we will see that man has added a probation of his own just in case: “Don’t even touch the fruit.” We’ll see if this added prohibition on top of God’s big prohibition helps.

Okay, no more lists. I’m ready to turn the page and get on with our origin story. For us to understand our origin—to understand who we are and where we find ourselves in the universe; one thing more must be told.