The Garden

Chapter 3Identity

The next day Kay and Jay walked and talked as they made their way towards school and Mr. Erwin's house. They thought it was a little strange that he had created a garden like that in his backyard and yet they were compelled to see it again. It was beautiful and mysterious, and they wanted to know why Eve and Adam ate the fruit. They googled it and found most people believed that they ate the fruit because of pride, because they wanted to be like God. When they approached Mr. Erwin's house, they saw him standing by the streetlight with his crutches.

“So, do you want to know why they ate the fruit?” Mr. Erwin asked as they walked towards the backyard.

“They ate it because of pride,” said Jay.

“Because they wanted to be like God,” said Kay as she and Jay followed Mr. Erwin to the two trees in the center of the Garden.

When they were in front of the two trees, Mr. Erwin put down his crutches and pulled a piece of fruit from the forbidden tree. He told them, “That's what most people think. They think they ate the fruit because they wanted to be like God. But the truth is, earlier in the story we learn that God made human beings in his own likeness and image. This means they didn't eat the fruit because they wanted to be like God because they already were like God. They ate the fruit because the serpent convinced them that they weren't like God and they believed this lie.

Mr. Erwin paused and looked at their faces to make sure they understood the magnitude of what ...