Friday, April 16, 2010

April 16, 2010

"And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:16-17




God is all-knowing, right?



So He knew that Adam would buckle to temptation and sin, right?



Why, then, did God give Adam a free-will knowing he would sin?



When you understand that answer you gain a meaningful insight into the heart and mind of God.

The answer is - God is love. To quote the great philosopher Tina Turner, "What's love got to do with it?"

Love is a choice. Choices are made with the will. A will is meaningless unless there are clear options to choose from. Adam and Even had loved God but God was all they had known. God wants us to love Him because we choose to love Him. When Eve was lured to the tree by the serpent and he tempted them, they were faced with an alternative to the love of God. That alternative was self-love. By the time the tempter was finished they had decided to choose against God and chase their own desires. They were guilty of sin - a willful transgression of a known law of God (which was actually the only law of God).

Can you imagine a God Who loves you so much and Who wants desparately to be loved by you so that He is willing to risk not being love by you?! That's our God! That's what's at state with temptation! Temptation is a test of love!

Free-will is freedom to love God! Or freedom not to.

How will you will your will today?