“God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it.
You will become just like God,
knowing everything, both good and evil.”
Genesis 3:5 NLT
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What would you do if…?
Sometimes, while reading a book or watching a movie I ask myself what I would do if I were ever put in the lead character’s position. In Harry Potter, what house would I hope the Sorting Hat would put me in? In Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, would I have stole Fizzy Lifting Drink like Charlie and Grandpa Joe did? If I were Anne Frank in Nazi Germany, what would my diary have said?
In the Bible, would I have eaten the fruit like Eve did?
It’s so, so easy to say “Ummm, No… duh! Have you seen how I eat?! I have no problem avoiding fruits AND vegetables. If it were a cheesecake tree, we’d have an issue…” But that wasn’t really all that Eve was saying yes to. The fruit was a means to something else she desperately wanted:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:1-6 NIV)
She was told that eating the fruit would allow her to know good and evil. She was told that she could be like God. She was told that she could exchange naivety for awareness – her eyes would be opened.
I would fall for that hook, line and sinker.
I know I would because I still fall for it in my life today. I crave to be Wonder Woman, Superman, Batgirl, and Captain America. I crave to have all the answers, be patient, all-knowing, all-powerful, and brave. I crave exactly what that snake was selling; I crave to be so much more than just human.
But the ultimate twist is that – through Jesus – I already am more than just human. So was Eve. God calls us to be his friends.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15 NIV)
We already have everything God himself designed us to have – everything he has learned from God the Father, Jesus has made known to us with his Holy Spirit.
How could Eve and I let something LESS THAN HUMAN convince us otherwise?
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Dear Lord, I wish I could say that I’d be stronger than Eve. I wish that I could have said no to the snake in that garden. But the truth is that I’m just like her. I need your help to live each day differently – to live as your friend. Give me strength to rise above the insecurities that tempt me. Fill me with the confidence that comes from being yours! Amen.
Because you truly seek to be super; you have. Already reached awesome. Keep looking up and renember to publish what you have aleady journeyed through so others unknown to you can benifit too!
I loved this post! Me too! I probably would have eaten the fruit. Keep writing and challenging us to grow. Wendy S.
Love your candor and truth, Emily! Thanks for sharing this over at our Snappin’ Saturday Share – 42 last weekend.