He Did it Anyways

 

A lush garden with the call of tropical birds in the distance. A hand reaches for exotic, forbidden fruit.

Two men stand on a hill dividing up the land before them. The younger chooses first and takes the lush plain with the exciting cities. In them he finds around every corner, forbidden fruit.

A king stands looking out the window of his palace and sees a bathing beauty. He lusts after her, forbidden fruit.

He’s followed the master along with the other 11 for three years, but more and more he finds himself disgruntled. Surely he’s justified in seeking the religious rulers who offer, forbidden fruit.

I try, and I fail. I climb, and I fall. I can’t do it on my own. The call is just too strong for that, forbidden fruit.

God knew we wouldn’t be able to resist it on our own. He knew that our eyes would be drawn to the shiny and irresistible. He knew that our mouth would water for the promised sweetness. He also knew that the sweetness would turn to sour and it would turn our stomachs in knots. He knew the fruit was poisonous and that we wouldn’t listen to the warnings but would need an antidote.

What absolutely floors me is that He knew all this BEFORE He even made us! And He did it anyways!

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last times for your sake. Through him you now trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.    1 Peter 1: 20-21

 He loved us so much, before He even made us, that He made us knowing we would fail and betray Him and He would have to sacrifice that most precious to Him, His only Son, to save us. He did it anyways. He wasn’t following behind us mopping up our messes and finally just decided to fix it once and for all, this was His plan all along. He knew about Jesus’ sacrifice before He separated the waters and called the expanse “sky” (Gen 1:7-8).

Here's the Thing: God loved me before He made Adam. How is that possible? I don’t know, but I believe it. I believe it because I can see His plan laid out perfectly over the course of history. I believe it because His Word tells me so (Eph 1:4).

Note: You can read about the fall in the garden in Genesis 3, Lot's experience in Sodom in Genesis 13 and 19, David and BathSheba in 2 Samuel 11, Judas' betrayal of Jesus in any of the gospels, but here's an example in Matthew 26 and the first part of 27, and for my story you'll just have to follow along at https://saltyzebra.blogspot.com/