I want to tell you a story about a good, good Father who loved his children so much that he wanted them to share the same heart he and Jesus and Holy Spirit share together. So, he created them from the essence of his light and love with a desire for them to learn to live from their shared heart.
Like every good parent would do, this exceptionally good Father wanted to teach his children what was life-giving and what was not, what was good for them and what could hurt them. He planted a tree in the middle of the garden. It was a Knowledge Tree—the Knowledge of Good and Evil (or as our Jewish scholarly friends would say, the Knowledge of Order and Disorder). But God didn’t put it there for the reason you may think. He actually instructed them not to eat of its fruit and he had a perfectly good reason to do so since everything he does is motivated by his perfect love.
For one thing, Father God knew that to be exposed to and aware of the vastness of a realm of all that’s evil and good, all that’s chaotic and ordered, would be far too much for his children, and it’s not something he wanted them to be burdened with.
Although God’s first children listened to the deception of a crafty snake and ate the fruit of this Knowledge tree, don’t worry! Though their choice was to try doing life outside of intimacy with their Father, he never walked away from them. He’s not that kind of dad. Though they felt lost and scared and ashamed because of their decision to try out life on their own terms, God never lost his children.
Yet, the question remains. Why put this other tree in the garden and restrict them from eating of it in the first place?
Because of the perfect union of an eternal love shared by the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit, the Creator knew the only way his kids could truly engage in this kind of life-giving love was to choose to. And to be able to choose to, one must be able to choose not to. This good, good Father put a tree in the middle of his over-the-top gorgeous garden with a delectable provision of yummies for their tummies because he wanted them to continually make a choice to trust him.
He knew that his kids could only give their hearts to him unreservedly if they trusted him. So, with purposeful intent, God placed this knowledge tree in the middle of the garden that they would walk past daily. Yahweh didn’t do this to tempt them but so they would have the opportunity to trust him again and again in the midst of their daily lives—even in moments when they didn’t understand, sometimes even when a deceptive lie from a ruthless deceiver was lurking.
When we observe the world our own lives and try to assess it with all our own version of knowledge without the clarity of the Father’s good heart——especially when deception creeps in—all can surely look bleak. But our heavenly Father is always good to us as his children. He’s good when we understand and he’s good when we don’t understand (which happens with much more frequency). Let’s keep choosing to believe in the goodness of God and in the reality of his eternal kingdom of light and love even when it doesn’t always appear that way. In so doing, we are maturing as his sons and daughters who will accurately represent the truth of his heart and his ways.
“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.”
Ephesians 5:1-2 (Message) | 
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