It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die. Genesis 3:3

When we think of "forbidden fruit," what usually comes to mind are things that are bad for us—alcohol, adultery, the corruption of wealth and power. But forbidden fruit may also signify something we've yearned for that God has chosen not to give us: the success just beyond our grasp, a dream we've chased most of our lives, a relationship with a particular person.

It's easy to obsess about this thing we don't and can't have—this forbidden tree standing in the midst of everything else God has given us. In fact, what we don't have can overshadow all of our other gifts. And with this yearning comes sin, which is the choice to re-create our own lives after our own image of goodness. Along the way we may tell ourselves all sorts of lies, not the least of which is that we can be our own creators. Judging God's work in our ...