Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us at the next Sunday worship service:
In-Person
9:00am & 10:45am,
Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

An Apple A Day

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:” – Genesis 3:1-4.

Eve could have been any one of us. She may have been the first, but she definitely wasn’t the last to listen to the father of lies. Before that, perfection was everywhere. The ground was easy to till. No one hated anyone. There were no murders, no power struggles, no jealousy, no envy. And Eve and Adam communicated each day with God Himself.

But Eve thought about what the serpent had said, she began to long to eat the fruit. The Bible doesn’t tells us but she probably was thinking something like: “The fruit of that tree looks so delicious. It may be the best fruit in the garden. That fruit will make me wise. I’ll know all the things God knows and then I won’t have to learn from Him. What a good thing it would be to eat this fruit! My life will be complete. I have to have it! Yes, I’m going to eat it!”

The allure of sin won. She believed that her life would be complete if she ate the fruit. But she was wrong. She succumbed to the lies.

And, so could I. And, so could you. Genesis 3:1 says, “The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” The shrewdest. Other Bible versions use crafty (NIV), subtle (KJV), clever (MSG), and cunning (NKJV).  Eve didn’t call out to God, seeking help or guidance. She thought she had this. We often think we have the situation well in hand as well. When God says “don’t,” and we say “do.” When God says “stop,” and we say “go.” When God says, “I love you,” and we say, “That’s nice, but if you don’t mind, I’d like a little time off for bad behavior.”

We long for a deep relationship with God, but lack the stamina to turn off the TV and read our Bibles. We’re afraid of the future. We fear being poor. We’re just normal, ordinary everyday people who like Eve make mistakes. And because we are prone to mistakes we try to hide from His love. But His love comes and finds us.

Genesis 3: 9 says, “Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” God saw his two wayward children in the garden, and he called out to them, “Where are you?”

It’s a good question for each of us to answer. Are we hiding from God? Are we ashamed of something we’ve done? Fearful that God will punish us? God did not come to the garden to punish Eve and Adam. Yes, there were deep consequences because of their sin—there usually are—but because of God’s mercy, Adam and Eve did not remain stuck in their sin. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8).

What have we learned from Eve? Listen for God’s voice. Trust Him. Sense the move of His Spirit. And come out of hiding.

Discussion Questions:

  1. If you were to take a “walk with God” as Adam and Eve did in the garden, what question would you ask him?
  2. What do you think Eve’s real sin was? What role did Adam play in the process?
  3. What’s the relationship between knowledge and sin?
  4. What can we do to create a “firewall” against the tempting of Satan?

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