The Forbidden Fruit

Have you eaten of the forbidden fruit? It's delicious! It gives you a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. It puts you in the driver seat of your destiny. It does seem right and it makes sense; but its end is death. You may be partaking of it right now consciously, or unconsciously. The truth about it is so simple and obvious that it is missed by most.

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" (alternatively, "There's no such thing as a free lunch" or other variants) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. And this is true almost everywhere. This is just how we deal as human beings. There is no way around it. But when it comes to God, this is as dangerous as it could be. This is a lie from the pit of hell. The Bible tells us that Lucifer was cast out of heaven because he wanted TO BE LIKE GOD (Ezekiel 28; Isaiah 14). Now fast forward to the Garden of Eden where the Serpent had a conversation with Eve. Genesis 3:1-6 details the story. But lets examine verse 5 of chapter 3;

"5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil".

Now before we proceed, please remember that a couple of chapters away, God has said "Let's create man according to our image". Man was created "like God", but somehow the serpent convince Eve that she needs "to be like God" by performing an act - eat! In other words, the burden is upon your shoulders "TO BE LIKE GOD". This actually speaks to our ego; and it does make sense to us - no free lunch, remember? And mind you, Eve's intentions were pure; she wanted to be like God. What harm is in the desire to be like God? Who doesn't want to be like God? All the religions of the world are based in this premise; to be like God. In pursuit of that, we go to great lengths. But to Eve, there was only one act between her and becoming like God. It was simply eating the forbidden fruit. And from that moment, the relationship between mankind and God changed. God has created man according to his image. Man didn't have to do anything to be like God. It was all God's doing. But man chose a new way of dealing with God; the burden is now placed on our shoulders. Out of that, came the law. God honored man's choice, and sent them away from the Garden of Eden (though he forgave them). From that point on, there was no free lunch when it comes to God. This was exactly Lucifer's plan. Man has fallen from a state of unconditional acceptance, to a new way of life that was born of Lucifer. However, God still loves mankind so much that he made a new way to deal with this system. Since this was man's choice, and man has free will, God became man (Jesus) and fulfilled the requirement of the Law. He then died and with his death he put away this system from the pit of hell. And He rose from death a new man. The first man that was required to perform in order to be like God is dead. God has created a new man. The old adage is still sneaking in to the Church today. We found ourselves trying to please God out of our works - flesh. We still measure who we are by "the length of our branches"; our giving, our ministry, our love for God, our pursuit of the things of God. Allow God to fill your heart with his love and that will produce the satisfaction that you need (Ephesians 3:19) Philemon vs 6 says;

"6That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus".

Acknowledge the good things that are in you (already) in Christ, and that will make your faith effective. You don't need to add anything at all. After all, it's not about trying to be like God, but rather allowing God TO BE in us.