I am doing something with this blog I have not done before. I am hosting a guest writer that has asked me to share her writing with you. I really like the way she wrote this piece, it has given me some inspiration for future writings myself.

I want to introduce Shannon from the UK, please take time to read and ponder what she has written.

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Open if you will a little YouTube video in your mind… on the screen you see a little girl, we’ll call her Molly, she is about 18 months old. She’s sitting on the floor happily playing with some little toys. In walks another small child, we’ll call her Poppy, she’s around 2 years old. Now you see Poppy march over to Molly and snatch the toy she is holding right out of her hands.

What does Molly do? Well, anyone with children will know that Molly is likely to cry out, she might even run to Mummy on her pudgy little legs for comfort and help. She knows what has happened to her is unfair. She knows there should be respect for other’s rights and property.

Another little home movie… this time Molly is playing in the park. Along comes another bigger child and roughly pushes her down, causing her to scrape her little knees and palms. Again? What does Molly do? Quite likely, she does the same… she calls out for help, or maybe runs to her mother for comfort and help. She knows that there should be respect for human life.

Let’s watch another one. This time Molly is playing with a little boy in the back garden, maybe she’s a little older, maybe not. This little boy is cruelly teasing the neighbours dog with a stick through the fence, poking him in the mouth and face, hurting him. Yes, this is not common, and Molly knows it’s wrong and runs off to “tell” – she knows that there should be respect for all creatures.

That was shocking. Okay, something more fun. A new little video opens where Molly and her twin brother, Mark, are sitting at the table and there is a plate with three biscuits in front of them. Before Molly knows what’s happened, Mark has snatched up two of the biscuits. HEY! Molly knows that’s not fair. She calls to Mummy again – she knows there should be a fair justice system.

Now, unfortunately, I need to open a little video that might be disturbing to some… it’s a yucky video. It’s a video that Molly’s uncle made. He was taking pleasure in doing some very grown up things to Molly. She’s is filled with fear and shame. She knows that despite her uncle’s insistence that he loves her and she’s his special little niece, what he’s doing is wrong. She knows that there should be respect for the family. Let’s close that window, only the most disturbed would want to see that.

So, even though Molly is a very little girl… yet let’s see what she knows, what appears to be written in her very DNA. Molly knows, without having to be taught, five of the seven laws God gave to all Mankind (the Noahide Laws):

· Respect for other’s rights and property
· Respect for human life
· Respect for all creatures
· A fair judicial system in place
· Respect for the family

I have often pondered the strange story found in the third chapter of Genesis. We hear that God planted a garden, and in that Garden, he placed the man and the woman he placed “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”, and what the effects of eating that fruit would mean. The Oxford English Dictionary defines knowledge as “Facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education”. DNA is information, pure and simple. It is the information for the construction of every living thing. Could it be that consuming the fruit of that particular tree would change the very DNA of human beings? I think it’s entirely possible. Just look at Molly… she is but a toddler and yet knows five of the seven Noahide Laws in her core being. Interesting.

In fact, this is confirmed in the text as well. God is clearly not participating in the moment where the serpent is tempting Adam and Eve. Consider this sequence of events:

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her; and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths.

They heard the voice of Adonai, God, walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, so the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Adonai, God, among the trees in the garden. Adonai, God, called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.”

Genesis 3:6-10

So, there you see Adam and Eve, immediately after eating from the tree, were changed in a fundamental way. They recognized they were in an immodest state and made for themselves garments of the materials available. They could have caught, killed, and skinned and animal for coverings, but they didn’t. Why? I think it’s because the act of eating the fruit happened before the change in their “human information code” (DNA) – and once the change occurred, they recognize one law being broken (theft, taking what was not theirs to take, NOT respecting the property of others), but did not choose to break another (the prohibition against harming animals) to fix it – wise choice! But note that something in their core understanding of the rules of living changed moments after eating the fruit… and the choice to respect animals followed.

They also hid when they heard God in the garden, why? Again, because they knew in their core being that they had broken the rules… and were rightfully afraid. When we break the rules we are often afraid and uncomfortable in our own skin.

What of the other two Noahide laws? Belief in God and Respect God and Praise Him. Well, most humans spend their lives trying to find meaning in their lives. Some find it in their careers, some in their relationships, some in their religion… and sometimes in evil pursuits. One comment that is heard often from those who have pursued evil to fill a void in their souls and later “find God” (as if God were lost?) is that their hearts are full, that empty place they’d been searching to fill, filled. I’m not going to comment on their choice of religious affiliation, but the fact is that in the acknowledging a Creator – whatever they call Him – they find that missing piece. God no doubt finds joy in the fact that they acknowledge his presence in their lives, and long for the day they know him better – as the one and only true God.

Okay, so there you have it.

1. Worship only God (Do not worship idols)
2. Respect the name of God (Do not blaspheme his name)
3. Respect human life (Do not murder)
4. Respect the family (Do not commit immoral sexual acts)
5. Respect for other’s rights and properties (Do not steal)
6. Create a judicial system (Pursue justice)
7. Respect all creatures (Do not eat the flesh of a living animal)

Five Noahide laws appear to be coded by God into our very DNA – and the other two manifest as an unquenchable longing to fill a void in our lives. Believe in God, and Respect and Worship only God.

most humans spend their lives trying to find meaning in their lives

How good is God and his love for us that he would make it so easy for us to recognize his seven laws for all Mankind? Now it’s a matter of our choosing to follow them because in God’s greatness he has written them into our being.

What an honor to worship such a thoughtful Creator!

May you be blessed,

Shannon Ratcliffe
4/2019

Photo Credit: Vanessa Serpas on Unsplash