Totally: Getting to Know Our Knowing, Present, Capable, Caring GodSample

After creating everything else, God created man and woman and put them in the Garden of Eden, where He intended for them to live a fulfilling and productive life in His presence, free from trouble or complication. Their purpose was to glorify Him by worshipping Him as He deserves (see Isaiah 43:44).

God didn’t have to do nice things for Adam, but God is generous, so He did. God gave Adam food to eat, animals to keep him company, and a companion like him to share his life.

God only set one boundary for Adam: He told him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God did this to protect him. He knew that if Adam ate from this tree, he would die, and God didn’t want that. He wanted to enjoy fellowship with Adam forever.

Thanks to God, Adam and Eve had it really good in the Garden of Eden until Satan showed up. Satan spoke to Eve through a serpent. Satan is smart. Instead of pointing out all that God had done for Adam and Eve, Satan directed Eve’s attention to the only boundary God had set for them and stirred discontentment in her heart with one cleverly phrased question. The serpent wanted Eve to think God was unfair, and Eve took the bait.

Once Satan knew he had Eve’s attention, he began to lie. Satan told Eve that God was wrong and that they wouldn’t die. He also suggested that God was somehow threatened by Adam and Eve, which is ridiculous. God isn’t threatened by anyone. He has no reason to be.

With very little persuasion, Adam and Eve did the one thing God had told them not to do, and their lives became complicated immediately. That’s what sin does.

God knew from the start what was best for Adam and Eve and tried to give it to them, but they refused to do things His way and suffered for it. God doesn’t set boundaries to make life hard for us. He sets them for our own good.