Reluctant Demon by Linda Rios Brook Page A

see both the angelic guard on the edge of the sky and the faces of the fallen demons who poked their heads out of hiding to hear how God might answer Satan's accusation. As I looked at the perplexed faces in both camps, I realized how much God was willing to risk on this untested prototype of humanity. Both sides had something to win or lose on the basis of how well Adam functioned.
    God replied, "I have given Adam complete free will, just as I gave you. If they obey me, I will do all that they ask."
    What was I hearing? I was so confused by what God said that I lost concentration, and I am uncertain what happened next. The blackness had returned, and the glory of God had departed. That much I knew, but it was all I knew.
    It was not like God to make a wager, and yet that appeared to be what He did. He must be trying to make a point, but what could it possibly be? He was allowing a contest with consequences all of heaven would regard as unthinkable. If Satan had not obeyed God, why did God think that this much-inferior model—Adam—would or could obey?
    When things settled down, I unwound myself and moved closer to the edge and looked down upon Earth. I wanted to get a better look at this race God had created.
    Adam was not that impressive. He had a physical body.
    That right there was the first mistake God made with him. How could Adam fight against a supernatural foe when he was confined to a body of flesh that could be injured, perhaps even destroyed? An obvious design flaw.
    He did not seem to have any particular talent. He could not fly. I suppose he was beautiful, but hardly a match for any of us, at least how beautiful we used to be. His physical body had to be fed. It had to sleep, a concept I could not relate to, although I admit it did have a certain appeal for me. (From time to time I've actually closed my eyes and tried to do it, but I cannot seem to get the hang of it.)
    Angry as I was at God for never giving me a chance to plead my case before Him, at that moment I felt sorry for Him. This was never going to work out as He hoped.
    That free will thing was the fatal flaw. I couldn't imagine Satan would take Adam seriously. I turned to leave when my eyes caught sight of my evil master staring at Adam. I shall never be able to erase from my memory the ghoulish thing I saw in his contorted face. He stood salivating after the man.
     

CHAPTER 10
    SATAN WENT BACK to his den, and I returned to my post to watch Earth. I had to admit it was a lot more interesting now that it had been reor-dered and mankind created. I was curious to see how it would turn out.
    God made a fabulous home for Adam in a garden personally designed for him. God named the garden Eden, and it was lush—full of every kind of tree and plant that would ever be needed by humans or animals.
    There were many trees in Eden, but only two that mattered: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For when you eat of it, you will surely die."
    Considering the consequences of the cosmic rebellion, surely someone in heaven must have tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to convince God that His insistence in giving Adam the ability to choose between one thing and another was a terrible idea that had no possibility of ending well. If God couldn't be talked out of the free will idea, He should have at least let Adam practice a little on something that had no consequences. Let him choose between an apple and a kumquat. Don't let a novice's first choice be one that could alter the balance of the whole world.
    The choice to obey or not is far too dangerous to be experimented with. It should be banned from every universe. I could be the poster child for why free will is an eventual disaster for anyone who has it. The ability to defy God is the cause of all my misery. Lucifer decided he could rebel against God.