How many of us have had our doctors recommend giving up certain foods? For diabetics: no sugars or carbohydrates; for hypertensives: no salt and moderate carbohydrates; for those with liver problems: no alcohol; for migraine sufferers: avoid chocolate, among other pieces of advice.
Food, the source of life, can become a danger when consumed in excess or when we choose those that are harmful to us.
This dilemma is not new. It dates back to the beginning of human existence on earth. History tells us how man, persuaded by Satan, decided to consume something that had been forbidden to him.
The main objective of our adversary, Satan, is to separate us from the love of our heavenly Father. And his simplest strategy to achieve this is to sow doubts about God's goodness towards us, about His plan and, consequently, about His Word. He induces us to distrust Him, our Father, and leads us to disobey through disbelief.
The Genesis account presents us with the scene in the Garden of Eden, where man enjoyed a perfect relationship with God. Everything was harmony and mutual delight.
Satan, cunning as he is, knew he could break that bond of delight by distorting man's trust in God. And how did he do it?
God had given man freedom to enjoy all the fruits of Eden, with the exception of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned them clearly: "If you eat its fruit, you will surely die" (Genesis 2:15-17, NIV).
The primary temptation that led to the first sin was the doubt sown by Satan: to question the truth and goodness of God. God had established that prohibition to test man's faith and trust in Him.
And so, the story of Adam and Eve confronts us with a crucial question: What is the fruit that God has forbidden us, and that, day after day, we choose to disobey driven by disbelief?
This reflection is inspired by the sermon of March 16, 2024, and has been crafted by Víctor Preza.
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