The Forbidden Fruit being offered to you - The Fall of Man & Rise of Christ

From the beginning, a struggle has existed between man's ways and God's way. Man has trusted in himself, his intellect, to guide him into all that is true will bring happiness, fulfillment and life. But in truth, a serpent is also in the picture who has come to each generation to convince them that man's ways, quote unquote, is the way. In the days of the garden, the snake said, did God really mean that if you eat of the fruit that you will die? What about man's way? Eat of the fruit and become like God? In the days of Cain, the snake said, did God really say that sin lies at the door, but you must overcome it? What about man's way? Kill your brother. In the days of Noah, the snake said, did God really say that it's going to rain? It's never rained before. What about man's ways? Ignore this boat, be merry. And today the snake says, did God really say, and there was light that he made man in a day and a woman out of his sight. What about man's way? You were born of a monkey. You may say, well, Petey, I've never seen this snake. There is a spiritual war for your soul. And the snake's tactic is making you think that all of this is just your idea. It's just your way versus God's way. And you are sufficient to become a God worthy of challenging the God that has made all things somehow that your intellect is the thing ultimately as well, driving you and sufficient to guide you into all that is true. While in reality it's the battle between a snake and a lion. The first thing that we need to realize is that we cannot trust in ourselves to figure this out alone. Mankind has proven its moral bankruptcy by being unable to conquer sin. If you cannot stand your ground in your actions every day and conquer sin in your life, how can you trust that you are able to to conquer life itself and inherit eternal life at the end of this tunnel and even the very definition of truth. But if there was someone who conquered sin, who never sinned, and who was never a slave, maybe he will have something to say about how moral perfection and truth and can come down to you. So the question is, is God's way always good? And what if it doesn't seem good? What about all those stories in the Old Testament where God seems to be doing things that you don't agree with, that you don't understand? Can we still trust God? If you read this book called the Bible, there's one thing that you quickly realize when it comes down to the proper way to do something. God wants you to know it. If there's something that he needs you to know, he has revealed it. He cares about his children, and he clearly wants them to live well and to be blessed. This is the truth that humanity has not believed. Was the serpent's lie after all or not? That God is keeping something good away from you. That's why he doesn't want you to eat of this tree. It's a secret that will make you more happy, more content, more powerful. A mystery that will make you like God. And man reaches for the stars in pride, thinking he too can hold them. And he looks upon the earth, thinking he too can make it his footstool. But we see, despite this, God's kindness. God has given us the Gospels, the law, the prophets, proverbs, poetry, history, books of wisdom containing lessons. And yet, when we read them, there are some things in here that are hard to understand. It reminds me of a small child where their parents are constantly repeating themselves, speaking slowly at times, speaking sternly at times, and warning them about things that to the rest of us adults may seem most obvious. Don't touch the stovetop. Pick up your trash off the floor. Don't hit your brother. Don't lie. When a parent instructs a toddler, the child may not be old enough to understand why something is wrong or even dangerous. The parent has a different level of knowledge and comprehension than the toddler. And one day, when the child matures, the child will understand. And in the same way, God is your father, we are his children. And there are things that you will not understand right now, even if he tried to explain it to you. But whether we understand a biblical story or lesson does not establish whether it is true. To establish truth by our understanding as the barometer, is prideful, because we are then assuming that we understand all things that are true. Do you not know that you are but a speck of dust trying to understand the maker of the universe? Not that he owes you an explanation, but God is loving and merciful. And as the child will understand, so too one day our Father will allow us to know fully. 1 Corinthians 13:12 for now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. In light of this promise, we require the humility of a child. Matthew 18:1. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And calling to him a child. He put him in the midst of them and said, truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.