In the Garden of Eden, God had told Adam he could eat of the tree of the garden as long as he worked the garden. Scripture says: "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat'" (Gen. 2:16).

Then in Verse 17 God said: "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die."

God gave man an opportunity to choose. He was saying to Adam: "There is a tree in the midst of the garden, but you are not to eat of it, because the day you eat it, you shall surely die." Notice God never said to him, "Don't touch it."

God's plan was always to give man a choice. God doesn't want a robot or an automaton; He wants a man who will follow Him because he has decided in his own heart that's what he wants to do.

God wants people to follow His will of their own volition, but they can't do that unless they have choice. We can choose how we will live: either for God or for the devil.

As Ephesians 4:27 tells us: "Neither give place to the devil." This verse is saying, "Don't give the devil an inch. Don't give him any ground." If you give him an inch, he will want ten country miles.

We can live in accordance with God's Word or against God's Word. We can do whatever we want and God will protect our right to do it. He will even protect our right to go to hell if we want to.

In the beginning God gave man this choice. God was saying to Adam, "You have a choice, but don't cross Me. If you do, you will pay the price for it." God has always given each of us a choice. We have the right to choose concerning ourself, but we don't have any right to choose concerning somebody else.

God gave Adam a second job, and it was quite a job. The Scripture says: "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof" (Gen. 2:19).

God brought to Adam every creature on the planet so that it could be named, and Adam named every beast, every bird, every insect. Just think about it: There are millions of insects alone.

God utilized man's marvelous capacity. The first man, Adam, was brilliant because the strong anointing of God was on him. He communed with God. God had said to him, "You have dominion over the earth. I am bringing everything to you so that you will take control."

God intends for man to be in control. A man out of control is a man out of the will of God, but a man in control can be used by God.

Source: What On Earth Are We Here For? by Keith Butler.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers