Things so far are going well. God creates a perfect environment within an already perfect environment-a special place, if you will-and places God’s beloved creation in it. They have total free reign with one stipulation: God alone gets to decide what is good and what is evil (which sort of implies evil may already exist, but we don’t like to talk about that). Now the stage is set for the final event-or first event, depending on your point of view (or both-I told you there were ambiguities) that sets our story in motion. By the way, at this point, if you believe in an all-knowing God, you have to wonder what God had in mind here. Paul certainly did.
The story is structured in a way that implies the couple had a choice. Two specific trees are mentioned -the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This second tree is the one off limits. It is also the one Satan zeroes in on. He is subtly deceptive-“Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?". He disputes, accuses-“You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil." (Genesis 3:1;5; italics mine). From our vantage point the choice is clear: life with God on God’s terms or life without God on our terms. It’s a choice we all face, all day, every day, in countless decisions we make. I bet you never looked at life that way.
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