Forbidden Fruit

I’m not a big fan of the Adam and Eve and the snake story. Mostly that’s because of how it’s been twisted to suit agendas and theologies, including being used to label women as temptresses and blamed for humankind’s sinfulness. Preaching on it last Sunday, a few people told me it was ‘a downer’ of a sermon, as sermons go.

Yes, owning up to how we can’t seem to help ourselves from doing what God says we shouldn’t is a downer. These choices are ours, not something outside our control or an inherited trait we can do nothing about. Adam and Eve don’t give us a free pass or lack of responsibility for our actions.

And yet, the beauty of scripture and the Living Word, Jesus, is that since before time God knew the Son would be needed. God gave us the opportunity since creation to choose to do what is right and to follow. God gave us autonomy so that we could become who we wanted, oftentimes not doing what God would have wished for us. And God never stopped loving us and making promises to us. God handed out punishments along the way when rebellion happened but never entirely abandoned us.

We also read parts of Romans 5 last Sunday including verse 8 that says that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. We didn’t have to ask, in fact many of us probably wouldn’t have asked for Him to do this to restore us to God’s ‘good books’. God through Christ just did it for our benefit, knowing we wouldn’t fully understand or perhaps even say thanks. It was all done for us because God wanted to make us worthy of being in the divine Presence in a way we couldn’t do ourselves.

I don’t know what you would consider forbidden fruit these days. And Jesus’ sacrifice shouldn’t be seen as license to do as we wish because He has covered our faults. But for me it sure takes the pressure off feeling the need to be perfect all the time and to never sin or mess up. At the same time, when I really consider how generous and gracious a gift was given for me by my God Who, really, should be so disappointed, frustrated and even angry with me, I’m reminded of how good I have it with my Maker.

I need to be aware of what forbidden fruit tempts me rather than being so concerned with the forbidden fruit others are trying. I don’t know what your list might look like, but mine would include pride, self-centredness, fear rather than trust, self-sufficiency rather than dependence on God. That’s a start, and with what I do for a living the fruit can be that much easier to reach and pick off the branch. Your forbidden fruits are probably different than mine. The antidote to picking forbidden fruit is like that of any diet - fill your plate with wholesome, satisfying things so that you don’t need to grab for what you crave that is a short-lived high with possibly harmful long-term effects.

So there are some things I want to do. I want to pass up forbidden fruit for the fruit of the Spirit. I want to live as a thank you for what I’ve received. I want to journey through my days celebrating the freedom I have been given. I want to point to the One who did what is impossible for us - to always choose God’s way - and say that He is the one to follow, not me. May God give me the strength and passion to make it so.