In the case of Adam and Eve, God gave them one command: Don't eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He said they could eat fruit from anywhere else in this ridiculously abundant garden... just not from that one tree. Why? Because it would kill them.
Adam and Eve had one commandment to obey. And they broke it.
Now, I'm not trying to clown Adam and Eve, because, quite frankly, I probably would have done the same thing. 1) Satan claimed it would increase their wisdom, making them more like God and 2) the fruit looked delicious. I'm a fan of both wisdom and food, so I probably would have been sold on the idea as quickly as Eve was.
But, given the fact that it took so little for Eve to be convinced, I started to wonder why God chose to put that tree in the garden in the first place. If He really wanted to protect them from death, and if He really wanted to make sure they didn't eat from the tree, why not just keep it out of their sight altogether? Why even give them the opportunity to disobey?
So I asked God. And this is what I heard: "Obedience needs to be a choice."
Interesting. So, if there's no opportunity to disobey, then obedience truly doesn't exist.
Obedience stems from a decision to honor authority. If the tree hadn't been in the garden, there would be no opportunity for obedience. There would be no submission to authority. Adam and Eve would simply be living by default, not by obedience.
I'm often frustrated by my own disobedience. Being tripped up by a "tree of knowledge" in my own garden or simply led astray by my own evil desires can be very discouraging. But the "tree" isn't in our territory simply to tempt us and remind us of what we can't do. God allows the "tree" to exist for as on-going opportunity to choose obedience to Him instead of sin.
Isn't that encouraging?
But I must say that I'm grateful my salvation isn't a product of my own obedience. My obedience to God is out of gratitude for what He has done for me. Just as Eve, myself and the rest of humanity have the opportunity to disobey, Jesus did too. He chose to be obedient on this earth, even to the point of death, and for that, I am eternally grateful.
For just as by one man's disobedience (failing to hear, heedlessness, and carelessness) the many were constituted sinners, so by one Man's obedience the many will be constituted righteous (made acceptable to God, brought into right standing with Him). Roman 5:19 (Amplified)
