How
did we get into such a pickle? Whose fault is this anyway? Two questions, and many more like these, lead
us to wonder at the state of the world.
If God is such a good Creator, why in the world are we in such a
mess? Free will—plain and simple.
His
will, which is absolutely free, was employed to create us in his image. His will, which is always good, demonstrated
goodness through the creation of the natural world in all of its intricacies
and wonder. His will, which is always
perfect, set humanity up for success. If
human will is a tiny, tiny reflection of God’s will it must be somewhat
powerful. Many around us will tell us
that our will-power is easily overcome.
But if we buy into that we buy into the same argument that was posed to
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
For
some reason, God created humanity with a free will. Adam and Eve could freely choose to follow
God’s plan and purpose outlined in Genesis 1 and 2. It is here that we read that God purposed
humanity to rule over the animals (1:26), to be fruitful, to fill the earth and
subdue it (1:28), to care for the garden (2:15) and for man and woman to be
suitable helpers for each other (2:20b-24).
There is also an implied freedom throughout the creation story. This is the freedom of the human will to
interact with, love and obey God. After
all the goodness that God created Adam and Eve could have settled in for ages
of pleasant and purposeful living with God.
And yet . . .
Read
Genesis 3:1-6
In
this passage we see the reason we are in such a pickle. And we also see whose fault it is that we are
in such a mess. When we stop and think
about God giving us free will it really is astonishing. He created a creature that had the capacity
to choose to love him and be in a living, loving relationship with him, and who
could tragically turn against him.
One
of the things that we as Christians believe about God is that he is all-knowing
(omniscient). Psalm 139 speaks of God
knowing us even before we were in our mother’s womb and seeing us when we sleep
and when we are awake. So when God created us he knew that we could fall, and
more tragically that we would fall
away from him. And yet that did not keep him from breathing his breath into us
(2:7) making us living creatures. While
parts of God’s creation are all the good and wonderful animals of the earth,
none of them has his breath breathed
into them. None of them will turn against
our Creator. This is what separates us
from the animal kingdom. We have a
spiritual dimension that they do not have.
We are made in God’s image—full of choice and will.
Apparently
the angels also have free will. Satan,
who in this passage is represented by a serpent or is a representative of
Satan, uses his will against his Creator.
He perverts and twists, questions and leads to doubt, tricks and trips
those who are human. Frankly, it is
difficult to trace the origins of angels and demons in Scripture and such verses
are few and far between. But that they do exist is replete throughout
Scripture. The preeminent passage about
the how evil fell to earth is the one Jesus spoke in Luke 10:18 which describes
that he saw Satan fall from heaven. These are certainly weighty theological
particulars, for which more in depth study may be called. However, one simply needs to think back on
their life and look at the world order to recognize the presence of evil. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10-18
that we are to employ all the weapons of righteousness to stand against the
devil and his schemes. Oh, that Adam and
Eve had had these words to read! But they did not need them. They had the will
that God provided for them—a will that is powerful and effective when brought
in full submission to the love of God.
Out
of all the trees that were available to Adam and Eve, there was only one they
were not to touch—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why did God put that tree there? Why could he have not left that one out of
the garden? Why wouldn’t he?! God is
intent upon our free will being exercised toward him—to worship him. His is the good Creator and he is worthy of
our worship and worthy of our relationship.
If we choose him freely, is that not the greater love?
Adam
and Eve were innocent—dead center of the bull’s eye for God’s enemy. The enemy’s arguments are meant to twist and
fold God’s actions and purposes for humanity.
He came to Eve casually. A tiny,
potent conversation, a few well-placed questions and Eve’s head spun. There had never been any one to question the
Creator up to that point. Then as subtle
as a shallow breeze on a hot summer’s day, the Creator was questioned. The relationship, founded on love and purpose,
was subject to doubt. The serpent really
did very little. The fresh and open mind
of God’s creatures, the ones with his breath in them, permitted the doubts to
shift their focus from the thousands of fruit trees they could have to the one they could not. That shift in focus proved to
be deadly in the most devastating and soulful sense. The will was tormented at not being a
god. The will was spurred on to question
why they should have to follow the command of the Creator. This is perplexing. This is mind-boggling. This is unnerving because just prior to the
Fall of humankind their wills had been one with God’s. They were trustful, obedient, delighted with
God and his presence. In that tiny
moment, as Adam and Eve held the fruit in their hands and its smell wafted
toward them, the physical desires for goodness became the avenue of the spiritual
desires for autonomy from the Creator. And
the results were devastating.
Read
Genesis 3:7-13
Matthew
Henry poignantly describes the terrible devastation brought on by the misuse of
the God-given will. This is “[t]he
falsehood of the tempter, and the frauds and fallacies of his temptations. He
promised them they should be safe, but now they cannot so much as think
themselves so; he said they should not die, and yet now they are forced to fly
for their lives; he promised them they should be advanced, but they see
themselves abased – never did they seem so little as now; he promised them they
should be knowing, but they see themselves at a loss, and know not so much as
where to hide themselves; he promised them they should be as gods, great, and
bold, and daring, but they are as criminals discovered, trembling, pale, and
anxious to escape: they would not be subjects, and so they are prisoners.”[1] Oh, the tragedy of the misused human will—the
will so freely given! All the shame and
torment we experience comes from our abject separation from God.
But
this is not the end of the matter. God’s
will is so far above ours! He is not
like us—praise his Name forever! When
they ran away, he walked toward them. And then he called for them and entered
into dialog with them by asking the question—“Where are you?” The Stone Edition of the Tanach notates
this brilliantly. “The question was
meant to initiate a dialogue so Adam would not be too terrified to repent [or: reply].”[2]
Even though God knows that we have sinned, even though he knows that we will
sin, he employs his will to draw our will back to him. His question of where they were in the Garden
was not for his sake, it was for theirs.
But
the matter was not finished. The human
will, now corrupted, was bent and broken.
Pointing fingers and shifting blame have been the modus operandi ever since. We
got ourselves into this pickle. It is our fault. As strong as Satan is, he is not as strong as
the God-given will breathed into us. Oh,
that we knew the power of God’s will within us!
Then when the forbidden fruit is offered, we could simply say, “No,
thank you. I have plenty of what I need
in the rest of God.”
Who
is God? Thankfully, he is the Creator of
Free Will—a will so free that we do not have to be subject to doubt or
sin.
Amen
Copyright
M.R. Hyde 2012
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