Right from the hands of God, as man came forth an envisioned living being, God's image was reflected forth as God had designed. Not a dot on his image was off the Great Designer's original desire. As God beheld man, He could conclude and say "indeed all now is very good". the crowning work of creation, the center of all creation reflected the very image of God. His thoughts and imaginations, all pointed to the divine imagination of the Creator. The plan was now actualized. The work of creation was done.
However, man was to face his fate. He was to be put in test of his obedience. To obey out of love as opposed to fear. The character of God, the foundation of His very kingdom was now to be revealed through man's choice, whether it be to life or to death.
Immediately man was created, his fate was put forth before him. In His instruction “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16 -17) was a command to obedience. In his perfect state, man could obey the command. When the woman was brought forth, man was to share the instruction given him by God.
Occasionally, angels would minister to the holy pair sharing their experience of what disobedience bore in heaven. They could share to them how evil being found in Lucifer was unpleasing in heaven and how it brought a great separation between God and this originally holy being. That sin could drive Satan to have no place in his heart to accept God's leading. The holy pair could be strengthened with the hope giving words of the angels that it was possible for them to overcome the temptation to disobedience if they could fully rely on God's providence and trust His word to be true. By sticking together Adam and Eve could strengthen one another incase one be tempted. There was strength in companionship.
Unfortunately, man fell to sin.
Eve in her attempt to seek independence gave opportunity to the tempter, the devil.
What was originally explained clearly to Eve to be “out of bonds” was now lessened to a mere hide of greatness. In giving room to think that God could hide such great transformation from them, Eve gave room to doubt God's love. She was now in the edge of choosing between obeying out of love or out of fear. Eve choose to disobey. Not knowing why the consequences were not immediate, Eve went forth to share her choice with Adam.
Adam, beholding the beauty, the joy and companionship he had enjoyed from Eve and now was about to loose, lost the consciousness that the very God that gave him this one could give him another of the same or even better feature. He chose to eat of the fruit.
At this point man was to die and be eternally extinct. But out of love, when the law demanded the death of a sinner, a ransom was found. Christ who was the insurance of man's creation offered Himself to die in place of man. Christ bore the guilt sin had caused man. God was reconciled with man through Christ. When man was required to die, Christ, the creator, offered to die in his place. O what manner of love.
What a wonderful love.
Great love that a sinner, condemned to die would live again. I who was to die for my sin was ransomed by my creator dying. What a wonderful love. Love that saved me when I was ignorant of what sin had costed.
Adam could not fathom the cost of his salvation. His children after even after having a first hand experience of what sin costed them, even the thin glimpse of the lost Eden could not fathom. That is what sin could cost.
O that we could not indulge in sin to lose sight of the great things given and promised us by God. O that we could still hold forth our eyes o the love stretched forth to us by our creator.