As I read through Satan's temptation of Eve, I had a thought that I'd never considered before that was prompted by a note in my study bible. Whenever I'd previously thought about the Fall and Eve's sin in particular (as separate from and distinct from Adam's sin), the idea of wanting to be like God had always been lumped in there with the sinful thoughts. After all, that was Satan's original sin of rebellion, right? However, I realized today that that wasn't Eve's sin.
It's not wrong to want to be like God. In the long run, it's the whole goal of sanctification.
I'll say it again: it's NOT wrong to want to be like God.
Now let me clarify: Eve DID sin. But it wasn't her desire to be like God that was so wrong. It was her chosen method of accomplishing it. By directly violating God's command, Eve chose to attempt to elevate herself to a status that wasn't hers to take. While we are made in God's image, it's HIS place to decide for us what is best and our place to submit to that.
Living in a fallen world where we aren't even close to the perfection that Adam and Eve experienced for a brief while, it's even more important for us to want to be like God. But we need to be wary of Eve's mistake-there's no way that WE can do it ourselves, even if it seems as easy as reaching out and taking a bite. The good work of sanctification is GOD's to complete, not ours.
God, give me a desire to be like You but also a willingness to let You do the work and not to try to achieve it on my own.
