My perspective is that Father was demonstrating an incredible level of trust and confidence in Adam and Eve by allowing them to roam freely in the presence of something that could and did mess everything up.

Had he wanted a perfect environment and perfect people, he would have created passion-free automatons.

But he didn’t.

He wanted, yearned for, yea, desired us.

Deeply.

In light of the stupidity of our sin.

He wanted to show the principalities and powers a picture of redemption, showing he could and would still use a messed-up people to check, checkmate, and destroy his ancient enemy.

Therefore, the Lamb was slain, from the foundation of the world.

Before Adam and Eve ever heard the words, “do not eat”, the mystery of the ages, “it is finished”, was uttered.

And you, oh follower of Christ, are no longer a sinner.

Your identity and nature, therefore, has nothing to do with an inescapable blemish of sin.

And therefore, saying we are amazed that “God loves us anyway”…

Well that word “anyway” implies we are still sinful, unworthy, partially untransformed, or in posession of the capacity to be something other than loved.

Yet, Father does not see, even those of us who have parts that are still angry with Him, as worth destruction.

You are His. Not anyway. Not in spite of some flaw you cannot get over (see Sea of Forgottenness).

Death; its shadow; its sting

; and that tenuous argument that either you are a miserable, illegitimate failure or that you retain an ontological or metaphysical, spirit-and-soul-defining flaw or nature that fatalistically will be able to, after following Christ, ultimately destroy you are, in the I-Am-present-moment-of-the-Ancient-of-Days-Lord-of-Hosts, swallowed up in unuttetable, brilliant flawless victory.

Your flaws are simply not that powerful.

Not so powerful as to overturn His rescuing and furious affection.

He is not nearly as impressed with your view of yourself as a sinner as you are.

#thatisall