An old Quaker saying related this. “The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist.” You don’t have to look far to observe some mild insanity brewing around you. It may be subtle. It may be acute. It may seem like a mere coincidence, but the Darth Vader of planet Earth is out to turn everybody he can to the dark side. He’s clever! He knows how to appeal to those things that will cause you to imagine your intellect and your common sense and wisdom will keep you safe. He knows your pet peeves and those things that make you question faith in general. All he needs is a vulnerable spot and he’ll slip into it before you’re even aware he’s there.
Eve was innocent. She didn’t know the tricks of the tempter. She didn’t have experience with deceit, but what she did have was choice. She had been given the opportunity to choose between what God told her face to face and what this wily being was now telling her. That snake who walked freely in the garden looked for the one place where she would be vulnerable. He appealed to her ego. He caused her to question God, even though up to that point, she never had a reason to do so. She allowed herself to be deceived.
The hard part about deception in general is that when we look back on it, we often discover to our chagrin that we actually had a sense that something was wrong. We knew deep down that we were being duped and yet that desire to please the ego won out. We accepted the message that led us away from the One who hoped we’d choose wisely. It led us away, but God is faithful and so He didn’t let us get away eternally. He watched over us, praying for us, nudging us to return to Him. That’s the way the story works.
Many shrug it off. Some say there’s no such thing as a devil, or angels, or even God. Some imagine that they can define life just for themselves. It all comes down to choices. Eve, Adam, and every human being since the human race began has had the same choice. The dark side disguises itself, cloaks itself in mystery, looks for ways to manipulate every mind and heart. It’s easy to make fun of the devil. In fact, he loves it. He loves anything that will cause you to believe he isn’t there at all. Once you’ve got that down, he’ll visit you again and again until you close the door on all God has for you.
The Light is always on. You can return to it this very moment. You can reach up and out and know in your heart of hearts that God is all you need. What you choose to believe makes all the difference now and forever.
Let your light shine!