I'm thinking about sin and divinity this week as it is the topic of our Bible Study this coming Sunday. (It starts at 9:30am; don't miss it!) Genesis chapter 3 gives us the story of the beginning of sin. It starts with the enemy who plants doubt abut the goodness and authority of God (v1): “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” What is interesting is that the serpent, which represents Satan, offers Adam and Eve a shortcut (v4) to becoming like God: All they have to do is eat the fruit!
Mankind is often looking for a shortcut to becoming like God. Eastern religions and New Age mysticism promise a quick route to divinity. The irony is that God wants us to become like Him. But no fruit from a tree (whether pineapple, banana, mango, or lychee) or any other route will ever get us there. Jesus declared, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except though me" (John 14:6). Instead, the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-25 will be the leading indicator of God's ongoing work in your life.
The sad part is Eve got what she asked for but not what she wanted. She learned the hard way there are no shortcuts. Her eyes were opened, but not in the way she hoped. What she thought would immediately give her god-hood instead brought death (immediate spiritual death and eventual physical death) as well as eviction from the Garden.
Philippians 2:12-13 tells us, "Therefore...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." God wants us to become like Him and He will help us to do it. But it is a life-long process. There are no shortcuts!