If God knew Adam and Eve would succumb to temptation, why did he let them be tempted in the first place?
The answer to this question is a matter of love.
God wanted an eternal relationship with humanity that was based on mutual unconditional love. This caliber of love emanates from the entwining of two wills.
To establish this volitional congruity, God had to give Adam and Eve an opportunity to wrap their malleable wills around his perfect will.
God’s command to not eat the forbidden fruit offered them a binary choice to either comply with his will or defy it.
Compliance would have entwined their wills around his, a trait they would have passed on to us. Unfortunately for them and us, they chose noncompliance.
God knew Adam and Eve would disobey his command. He foresaw the resulting damage to his creation. He knew that Jesus would have to die for their mistake.
Yet God so valued a personal relationship with us that he risked virtually everything to make it possible. This is a remarkable concept!
