Adam and Eve lived in the definition of paradise. The Garden of Eden had no pain, no regret, and no danger of any kind. There were no thorns on the trees, no stickers hiding in the grass, and they couldn’t even get a sunburn. Adam and Eve walked with God throughout the garden every day and enjoyed perfect communion with Him.
The promise that they had was fellowship with God. They walked and talked together and enjoyed the company of Almighty God. They had everything that they needed to live in a perfect paradise with neither shame nor fear.
But along came a problem. Satan tempted Eve with the fruit of the forbidden tree. It began with fascination. “Has God indeed said…” Satan began his temptation. “You will surely not die.” When Eve listened to his voice, her heart became fascinated with the forbidden fruit. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate” (Genesis 3:6, NKJV).
She became fascinated with what she did not have and with what she did not know. Before she ever reached out her hand to pick that fruit, her eyes were fascinated with how it looked, and her heart was enraptured with what she believed it would do for her. Because of her fascination with the forbidden, she gave into the words of the serpent.
Fascination led to form. She reached out her hand. She plucked the fruit off the vine. She held it, looked at it, saw that it was pleasant to the eyes, and took that bite. When Adam and Eve ate from that tree, the form of the fruit led to the fact of sin. The fact was that they were now in total rebellion. They failed in the problem and were driven out into the wilderness by angels with flaming torches. Their provision was exile.
You need to understand that when you fail in the problem, your family will feel the pain with you. You don't feel it by yourself; it spreads like a pebble dropped in a pond, and the ripples of every decision fan out in every direction for years to come. Everything you do affects the people around you.
GREAT SIN CAN BEGIN WITH SIMPLE FASCINATION.
When fascination takes hold of your heart, it becomes a form. When you reach out your hand and grasp that form, it becomes fact.
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (NKJV). All Eve had to say was, “Look, I don't talk to strange snakes when my husband's not home.” It would’ve never been a problem, but Adam and Eve got kicked out of the Garden of Eden because they failed in the problem, and all of humanity lives with the effects of that problem to this day.
ARE THERE ANY PLACES IN YOUR HEART THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN WAY TO FASCINATION WITH THE FORBIDDEN?
Today is the day of repentance and today is the day of salvation. Give your heart fully to the Lord and ask Him to show you any areas that you need to commit fully to Him. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5, NKJV).
