Lately, I have pondered sin a lot. I think about why I sin, how I sin, and what it means when I sin. Just this week, I've reread the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 for the hundredth time, it seems. Thinking about the first sin reminded me I've missed the point of the story much of my life. Focusing on the forbidden fruit makes me look at sin like the world does. There was a rule set before Adam and Eve, and they broke the rule because it was no fun to follow the rules. The fruit was food after all, so they did it anyway. Then, they were punished. Simple enough, right? Well, I've realized that by focusing on the fruit I've missed the Garden of Eden. In other words, God gave Adam and Eve more trees full of fruit that were yes's than He gave them no's.
Another realization I've had is that the forbidden fruit is not in and of itself bad. After all, we learn in the Creation story that everything God made was good. God knew they would feel shame after eating the fruit because they weren't supposed to do so. He knew all the consequences of their eating that one fruit, and He wanted to protect them. The punishment wasn't the rule He gave; it was the result of the bad thing done.
I often looked at sin, like Eve, as the forbidden fruit glowing and growing in delight as I gazed at it. Why would God not want me to have something so good? To state it plainly, it's horrible for me when I long for the juicy piece of fruit more than I long for God. He knows that so well when I do not. My evil desires taint that fruit, not the other way around. I always need to see what's good for me is as vast and beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Why not choose the good things instead of dwelling on the one bad thing?
