ROOTED - Monday, June 23, 2025

Genesis 3:6
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.

Reflection: Question #13, The Forbidden Fruit, Part 1
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro 
Question: What was the sin our first parents committed that caused them to fall far from the state they were created in?
Answer: They ate the forbidden fruit.
In Sunday School, as children, we were all taught particular stories. David and Goliath and Adam and Eve eating the fruit are in the top two spots. I suppose one might argue that the story of Jonah and the whale is in contention for one of those spots. Or perhaps Joshua and Jericho.  I might even say that the Noah and the Ark story is at the top of the list. But I am going to hold to the fact that Adam and Eve is the top childhood story. Everyone, I think, in the world has heard this story in some shape or form. It is foundational to our faith. In fact, the first six chapters of the book of Genesis establish for us key doctrines: who is God, who is the Enemy, what is sin, how did we lose fellowship with God, and how did death enter the world?
The #13 question in the Catechism is critical… “What did Adam and Eve do to cause the fall from their perfect state?” This event in history (and I affirm that this was a very real historical event in history not merely a meaningful religious story) represented a cataclysmic, earth-shaking, shift in how man would relate to God. What happened? They ate the forbidden fruit. The sin was not so much eating fruit (what it was we have no idea) … the sin was that they rebelled against God. It was the first sin. The first rebellion. The first time in all of history that someone disregarded God’s commands. And that rebellion against God has impacted us to this very day. I am sure that Adam and Eve did not know what a big deal it was to violate God’s command, but they soon learned that God is super holy, and that the consequences of ignoring what he says has consequences.

Prayer 
Lord, we remember now that sinning against you is something you take seriously. May we learn to obey you in all your ways, knowing that you love us!