What Was That Forbidden Fruit, Anyways?

 

Recently, at a women’s conference, the speaker read scripture from the book of Genesis. While tempting Eve with the forbidden fruit, Satan challenged what God had told her, stating that “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4-5 (NLT)

While that wasn’t the focus of her message, it spoke volumes to me about the love of our heavenly Father.

When you have children and grandchildren – really, any child that you love, you want to protect them. Ideally, we wish that they never had to know evil at all. How wonderful would their lives be if they never even heard about, let alone experienced, all the evils in the world? It’s our sincerest hope and wish to protect them from all that’s evil. Oh, that they would never know about pain, insult, assault, rape, kidnapping, torture, murder, greed, heartbreak and so much more!

Alas, we know that they will be exposed to all those things through media and some of those things through their own experiences.

What if there was something we could do to protect them from it?

What if we could prevent them from opening the doorway to the evils of the world?

What if they could only know…..good?

In His love, mercy, compassion and goodness, God only had one rule for His children in the Garden of Eden: Don’t open this door – this door will lead to pain and sorrow and destruction, even death.

Yet through the subtle deception of the enemy, the door looked tempting, as Satan attempted (successfully) to make it look to Eve – and Adam there with her, like God was keeping something good from them. He wanted to make them believe that knowing good AND evil would make them like God.

But God didn’t want His family to know the torment of evil. He didn’t want us to know good AND evil – He only wanted us to know good, forever.

In wanting the best for His children, He sought to protect them with a simple rule. He’d already provided every good thing for them – and forbid the bad from destroying their lives by containing it in a single tree.

“You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4-5 (NLT)

Knowing what we know now, they’d never have eaten from the forbidden tree. But – they didn’t yet know evil. They didn’t even know what evil was.

Sometimes, as in this case, rules are for our own protection. God didn’t want us to know evil – only good!

Because that fruit was eaten, we now need to be redeemed. In His great love for us, God provided for our redemption by sending His own Son to make the sacrifice necessary to bring us back into harmony with Him.

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”  – Romans 5:8-9 ESV

Yet, like Eve – and Adam, so many of us think we know better than God.

 

Whatever........

(picture from stampinup.net

“And now, dear brothers and sister, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” – Philippians 4:8 (New Living Translation)

The New Life Version says it this way, “Christian brothers, keep your minds thinking about whatever is true, whatever is respected, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever can be loved, and whatever is well thought of. If there is anything good and worth giving thanks for, think about these things.”

The New King James reads, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.”

No matter which version we pull up, Paul tells us to think on the good things. Yet, I catch myself allowing things that could never be good creeping into my mind. One of my favorites verses in scripture, one I lean on greatly, yet one I don’t live up to all the time. I wonder what my reality would look like if I thought only on good things!

This instructional list of adjectives includes:

True and honorable

Right and pure

Respected and lovely

Noble and just and admirable

How is it we find ourselves filling our minds with thoughts that are:

Gossip and destructive

Angry and hostile

Bitter and ugly

Worrisome and lying

Disgusting and hurtful

Sad and regretful

Jesus is coming back for a church that is without spot or wrinkle, a church that is watching and waiting for His return. How can we expect to produce the fruit of the Spirit of God if we’re weighed down with the negativity of that second list? God knew how powerful our minds are; He created them to be powerful! Paul no doubt learned from his own experiences, and could see how this wisdom from God was so vital for our lives to be filled with liberty and joy and power-filled. He shared it with us centuries ago, knowing that however many generations received his instructions, we’d all need them to thrive.

(picture from oldfaithgateway.com)

If we read this scripture every single day and post it where we’ll see it and memorize it and teach it to our children and make up songs about it the job will be partly done. But, we also need to fill our minds with those good things. Constantly watching television programming that degrades our thoughts or listening to music filled with perversion and profanity and reading material that should make us blush and hope no one sees us won’t give our mind much of an opportunity to fill itself with positive things. Nor will rehearsing over and over again every failure we’ve suffered through or every hurtful thing done to us.

(picture from ibelieve.com)

It’s time to take inventory. Do we complain more than we give thanks? Do we curse when something upsets us? Do we find vulgarity entertaining? What kinds of images are stored in the hard-drive of our brain? It’s time for some reprogramming. It’s time to focus on the Word of God, for real. It’s time to focus on the things that glorify God and all that is good instead of what the world beckons us to accept as good.

“Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” – Psalm 34:14 (KJV)

“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:21 (KJV)

If you have an extra minute or two, read 2 Timothy chapter 3 for a description of what things will be like in the last days of life on this planet as we know it… Personally, I don’t think Paul is talking about the people around us that don’t believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, but to us – the church of Jesus Christ, His own body.

Yes, it’s a good start. Write out Philippians 4:8 (4:4-8 is GREAT) and put it where you’ll see it often to remind you. It’s such a good idea; I suggest you do it right now. Watch your mood change, too!

(picture from butlerpartyof3.com)