“If you eat of this fruit, you shall become like God.”
This statement has to be the biggest lie ever told in history, the
priest said. He was giving the congregation a background of the First Reading during
the mass in honor of Mama Mary’s Immaculate Conception. It’s a key moment in
the story found in the Old Testament (Genesis 3:1-24), which recounts how the devil
tempted Eve and sadly brings about the fall of man.
But why did the priest say that it has to be the biggest lie ever told
in history?
When I was small, my parents urged me to eat fruits which, they said, would
help build up my resistance against sickness. And I’m sure you’ve come across
articles claiming that some fruits show great potential in fighting certain diseases.
I’m also positive that, if ever fruit from the tree of life were placed
side by side with every other fruit (and vegetable) on earth, it would easily trump
the others in terms of health benefits.
It’s not so much the reference to the fruit, but what the devil says the
benefit of eating the fruit is: make one become
like God.
Think about this: Didn’t God make Adam in His own likeness? That means
we already bear a resemblance to God. Does that mean physical resemblance?
Maybe.
Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our
likeness. – Genesis 1:26
Now, if I were to shoot back at the father of all lies, I would tell
him (straight to his disgusting face), “So, explain to me how a person can
become someone that he already is?” I imagine Satan’s jaw dropping; then he
would probably just scream in frustration because he wouldn’t know what to say.
Finally, he’d turn around and crawl back to hell, mumbling, grumbling, and cursing
all the way because he knows that he really had no power over me in the first
place.
But wait, there’s more! …
Being the recipients of grace by Jesus’ death on the cross, we have also
been given His Holy Spirit to dwell in us.
… the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit that has been given to us. – Romans 5:5
Even before He fulfilled His mission on Calvary, Jesus already taught
us to call God Our Father! (Matthew
6:8-10) And so, this confirms that we are indeed His sons and daughters,
citizens of Heaven, made worthy by His grace.
So the devil telling Eve that, “If you eat of this fruit, you shall
become like God” may indeed be the greatest lie ever told.
Finally, let me complete the circle by going back to the start when,
out of love, God created man and gave him life.
… then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and
blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. –
Genesis 2:7
From the beginning, we are already God’s own, His forever. All praise to
Our Father because nothing will ever change that!!!
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