It must have been what every ear wanted to hear. We may refer to it as the irresistible offer or secret disclosed.
“You will be like God,” sounded fair and enticing. If it ends here there could be nothing more a man would desire. Yet it doesn’t end there.
Let me put it this way, to be like God may imply we will be revered, to be on an equal status with no one higher than us. They did become wise, as the statement continued, “knowing good and evil.”
This so-called wisdom, not from the creator, is the root cause of all evil. This wisdom did open their eyes, they knew they were in the wrong. The evil one did tell them the truth. They were tempted but were told the truth which is beyond what they can handle.
The gift of knowing good and evil is like carrying a heavy burden of load on our back in our journey of life. We were ambushed by the diverged road, the dilemma of life. Everything is broadly divided into two. Our decisions were sometimes grave leading us to the inescapable consequence of our choice.
I know we all wanted to be like God – at least met him during our hard times. Yet many wanted to be like God for personal gain. It would be selfish of me to have the power for a short time to do away with my pain and disorders.Yet id I were God, I might knew the necessity for all my sufferings. We were filled with desires of good and evil. Then we tend to have a stronger desire for bad things, which becomes an arduous task to control.
Our quest to be like God:
You and I lived in the land of self-proclaimed godman and godwoman. It is not new.
As for me, I don’t want to be like God but learned how to live under and according to his will. I don’t want to be more than what I ought to be. This quest for holding the supreme power will destroy the world.
For this reason, many of us battle with the audacity of our wants. Our wants sometimes take over us, which is easily crushed and destroyed although we might not be able to recognize them by ourselves.
When and if we could realize by ourselves, it means we were way beyond our limit.
However, with God, everything can be reconciled by his abiding grace.
Never be like God:
You and I would never be like God, leave aside being God. We were his children – to work and carry out his plan. No matter what we may suffer on this earth, it is not the end. If we were his children, there would be an end of evil when only good things will prevail.
As we know now, the desire to be like God is not new, but always appears to be desirable and pleasing. The tree in the Garden was not new to them. Now she looked at the tree differently as was told by the evil one.
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Be like God?
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” Genesis 3
But now that we were like God but not God, we know good and evil. The sense of being ashamed, fear, and sin grip us. Yet till today, this desire did not die down, we tempted each other over this issue.
Still, God clothed them – Adam and Eve.
And till today that is why God is on a mission to clothe us in the holy blood of Christ who have no sin but was crucified for our sin. Once we know and believe the truth that Christ is the Lord who died for our sins and risen on the third day, then the truth sets us free.
In God’s Kingdom:
Some claim to see God, some claim to be God, and we were drawn to believe them. The human heart is easy to deceive as it is desirous.
We don’t need to be God or like God once we are accepted in his family by his grace. The Lord says, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal…Gen 6:3
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. John 4:24 Worshiping God is not simply bowing to his creation or our creation. Mortals will never be like God. Yet a covenant of salvation, reconciliation, and restoration – the New Covenant in Christ is for all.
Nearer to God:
Now, day by day, we were inching towards being so close to God. With great perseverance, we will one day finish the journey. Even then, we will be so close but never be like God.
When our earthly body is laid to rest, it would be like a seed buried in the soil to grow again in its full shape. Then, we will eat from the tree of living. Our tears will be wiped away and sorrows no more.
Then, we will be made new in his presence to fulfill the purpose of his creation. We would not simply be lazy people only eating from the tree of living. Thus, we must work hard while we have time.
To those who did not know it as yet, you will never be like God. And if somebody or entity claimed to be God, we better stay away from it. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. Matthew 24:5
