Man Given Free Will

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” Genesis 2:16,17

When God gave the one limitation of not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he gave Adam the option to choose. Without the option of choice, then there would never have to be a decision made. 

God gave everything else in the garden so freely to Adam and He blessed him abundantly providing his every need in a beautiful setting. In the same way, God has blessed us so abundantly. However, just like Adam, he has given us the option of choice; He has given us free will. 

God wants our love and obedience to Him to be the love and obedience of choice, not because we are forced to. Unlike Adam, we have many “trees” of temptations in our lives, but we also have the Holy Spirit who has been sent. He is the one who helps to guide us and give us the nudge to know if something isn’t what God wants for us. Additionally, we have the Word of God to light our path and direct our steps.

I am so thankful God has given us free will, but also equipped us to make the right choice in resisting the enemy and choosing Him. 

Pastor Emily Christenson