Dear reader, let me take you back to the beginning of our story. Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve lived in harmony, as one with God.
It was in the Garden when the evil one, in the form of a serpent, disguised his voice and attacked mankind for the first time. He said to Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). Eve confidently responded, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it or else you will die.’” (Genesis 3:2). It was then that he manipulated Eve into eating the forbidden fruit by causing her confusion. His words led her to believe that she was not enough and needed more. The serpent said to her, “You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” (Genesis 3: 5).
The temptation to gain wisdom was desirable. So she ate from the tree and gave some to Adam. When they ate the forbidden fruit, their eyes were open to shame and fear. Mankind was no longer content. They realized they were naked and covered their bodies. They found themselves hiding from God.
How many times do we sin and acquire shame? How many times do we find ourselves hiding from God? The voice of the evil one will often manipulate our thoughts into believing we are unworthy. He has been attacking souls and leading us to deceit ever since his first attack on mankind in the garden. He is sneaky and has adjusted his strategies to align with modern-day tools such as social media, television content, explicit music, easily accessible pornography, and the list goes on and on.
But Jesus conquered all that garbage when He rose from the grave! He defeated the evil one and made it possible to overcome the manipulation and confusion brought forth by the serpent. The reality is we imitate what we behold. We are what we consume. A great discernment tool is to ask ourselves, “What has our attention? Whose voice are we listening to? Whose voice do we seek out and partner with?”
Dear reader, Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I come so that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” The voice of the evil one will steal the good and happy thoughts from our minds. He destroys our confidence and self-worth. However, the voice of our Lord speaks life. He speaks freedom. He speaks peace and abundance. Don’t we all want that?
Cling to the abundant voice of our Lord by resisting the modern-day forbidden fruit and the temptation to partner with intrusive thoughts brought forth by the serpent. You are beloved. No matter what deceit you experience, you do not need to hide from God your Father. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you (James 4:7-8).
Until next time, your sister in Christ,
Abby
Could the identity of the unknown forbidden fruit in the world's oldest and greatest mystery story have something to do with procreation and the family Adam and Eve do not have until after their eviction from Eden at the end of Genesis 3? Adam and Eve disobey the Genesis 1:28 commandment--the first commandment--to "be fruitful and multiply [in the Garden]" when they become one flesh incorrectly (Genesis 2:24) by eating from the wrong tree in the allegorical Garden's center (Genesis 2:9). So they disobey not just one commandment, but two at the same time. Finally, it is interesting that half of Eve's punishment in Genesis 3:16 is painful childbirth--because she chooses to not have children in the Garden of Eden and…