Answers and stories copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999 by Grandma
1. The Bestowal of Free Will
In the beginning, after God had created the heavens and the earth - and human beings - He called to His angel Lucifer, and He said unto him,
"Behold! I have created man in My image; male and female have I created him." And Lucifer looked down upon the earth and saw that it was so.
And God said, "I have given humans part of My creative power, and I have surrendered unto them a portion of My absolute sovereignty: they, alone, of all the creatures I have made, possess the power of choice." And Lucifer looked down upon the earth and saw that it was so.
And God said, "Now they share my nature: in time, I shall descend among them and share theirs. Through human beings, I shall experience what it is to be creatures." What can a lowly angel say to an announcment like that? Lucifer merely nodded, and waited. After a time, God sighed deeply.
And God said, "But My people are not aware of the gifts I have bestowed upon them. If they are to grow in wisdom and understanding, and to fulfill their natures, they must learn to exercise their will, to make right choices, and to come to Me through reason and faith."
And God said, "Therefore, Lucifer, I am assigning to you a most arduous task. It is possibly the second most important task I will ever delegate to anyone in all creation." He sighed again.
And God said, "You will go down now among My people, and you will help them learn to make choices."
Lucifer stood silent for a time, contemplating the magnitude of his task. Angels never made choices, never made decisions. They never bothered their very intelligent heads with such powerful things, for choices were beyond their understanding. God commanded - nay, God merely requested - and any angel worth his salt would have obeyed even before the words were fully spoken. While Lucifer had never heard the term "blind obedience," that is the kind of obedience angels - by nature - render to God. Lucifer was, therefore, bewildered.
And Lucifer said, "How can this be, Lord, since I have never made a choice?" God reached out and touched His angel gently. Lucifer, the Son of Morning, was one of His favorite angels. Lucifer felt the power of free will flowing in his veins, and his eyes widened in surprise. He didn't quite know what to do with it.
And God said, "Go now." And Lucifer went.
2. The Fall of Man
Taking the form of a serpent, Lucifer led the lovely lady to the tree in the center of the garden. She came hesitantly, but trustingly, her long hair catching now and then on the branches of a tree or a shrub. She stopped under the tree called by God The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and she looked up at the ripe, red, round fruit hanging in abundance on the limbs of the tree.
"There," the serpent hissed. "This fruit is the best in the garden. Try it." His eyes glittered mischievously.
"But God forbade us to touch it," she said, clasping her hands behind her back. "He said we would surely die if we did."
"You will certainly not surely die," Lucifer assured her, winding the sinuous, serpentine body around the rough trunk of the tree. It was a very pleasant sensation, and Lucifer considered for a moment the advantages of living in the flesh. "Try it," he said again. "You'll like it, I promise."
The woman looked up at the fruit doubtfully. God had told her man that if he ate the fruit, he would die. The serpent here was telling her that she would not die if she ate the fruit. Whom should she believe? Her brown eyes clouded in confusion and doubt. She sank to the ground to think about this.
"If God is lying to us," she thought, "then we will someday die without ever having tasted the fruit. All the other creatures in the garden eventually die, and there isn't any reason why we should be exceptions. Or is there? I can't think of one. God hasn't ever said we would never die, has He? No, only that if we eat this fruit, we will surely die. Is that different?
"On the other hand, if the serpent is lying to me, then I will still eventually die. But I will have tasted the fruit. Isn't it better to die for something I do than for something I didn't do?
"But," she thought, "if God were telling the truth, then I will maybe live forever, if I stay away from the fruit of this tree. And if the serpent is telling the truth, it doesn't matter whether I eat the fruit or not, I will still live forever. Whom should I believe? This is so confusing!" The fruit certainly looked innocuous enough. Whom should she believe? She decided to ask her man.
Slowly, the woman stood up, watching the glistening fruit as it shone in the sun. The serpent uncoiled from the trunk of the tree and wrapped himself around her shoulders. She tried to wriggle free, and when the serpent released her, she fell against the tree.
"You see?" the serpent hissed, smirking at her. "You didn't die when you touched the tree. You won't die if you touch the fruit. You won't even die if you eat the fruit! Go on, try it!"
Realizing that the serpent was right, the woman pushed away from the tree and reached out her hand, and plucked the nearest ripe fruit. She looked at it for a moment, held it to her nose, and sniffed it, then smiled at the serpent. The fruit smelled delicious, but she didn't say so. Lucifer just watched her, letting her make up her own mind about what to do. The lady brushed her hair back away from her face and turned away from the tree, the fruit held tenderly in her hand.
"Eat it," the serpent whispered. "You will be as God, knowing good from evil." The woman's eyes widened. If this were true, if she could really know good and evil, she would always know what she was supposed to do. This would be a wonderful thing, to not ever be in danger of being confused again about whom to believe.
Hurrying, now, and excited, she pushed her way through the trees, around the flowering bushes, and past several smll animals, to the grass where the man lay sleeping. Holding the fruit carefully, she sat down beside him and wakened him with a fluttering touch. He startled into wakefulness and scrambled to a sitting position.
"Here," she said, thrusting the fruit at him. "The serpent says we shall not surely die if we eat this fruit, and he says we shall be as God, knowing good from evil. And I fell against the tree and I did not die. Should we taste the fruit?"
Half asleep, the man took the fruit from her. He looked at it sleepily, shielding his eyes from the brightness of the sun.
"Is this from the tree that is forbidden to us?"
"Yes, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil," she replied, nodding.
"God said we would die if we eat it," he said, putting the fruit on the grass beside him.
"The serpent says we shall not die, that we shall be as God," she said. She watched him impatiently, waiting for him to decide what to do.
The man looked at the fruit, then at the woman, then off into the distant parts of the garden, considering.
"You touched the tree?" he asked. She nodded. "Did it hurt?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Whom shall we believe?" he finally asked. She shrugged, biting her lip. The man thought about it. She almost trembled in her eagerness. Both of them watched the fruit as if it were about to explode.
"Well," he finally said, "I can certainly see some advantages to knowing good from evil. If we knew that, we would know what to do." She nodded, her eyes bright with anticipation.
The man lifted the fruit to his lips, hesitated, and looking into her eyes, he took a deep breath and thrust the fruit at the woman.
"You first," he said, holding his breath while she bit into the fruit. The pungent juice ran down her chin, its fragrance delightful.
The man snatched the fruit away from her and bit deeply. They stared at each other as they chewed, apprehensive, excited, uncertain what to expect. And knowledge came to them as they swallowed: They were mere creatures, animals. And they would indeed surely die. Horrified, the woman threw the fruit as far from her as she possibly could.
"The serpent lied," she whispered, wide eyed.
"No, he didn't," said the man. "He said we would know good and evil, and we do."
"For all the good it does us," she said bitterly. "We'll die knowing. Big deal!"
"Would you rather die ignorant?" he asked. The woman grinned wryly.
"I'd rather not die," she replied. She did not realize that she and the man had established for all time the human "need to know." Henceforth, millions of humans would choose knowledge and death over ignorance and life. But she didn't know that. Sickened, she leaped to her feet and ran, sobbing, until she could run no more. Collapsing on the ground, wracked with guilt, she felt dirty, inside and out. She didn't think she could ever face her man again, or her God. She felt dirty, and she didn't think she'd ever be clean again.
3. The Fall of Lucifer
After the infamous curse had been pronounced, when the humans had been cast from the garden of their innocence, and the guardians had been posted at the gates, God again called Lucifer to His side.
And God said, "Go down to My people, for your task is not yet completed. You must encourage their appetites and their fears. I will bid them to do this and you will cause them to be afraid; I will forbid them to do that and you will cause them to desire it avidly." Lucifer was astonished and horrified.
And Lucifer said, "You want me to teach them to disobey You?" God laughed and shook His mighty head.
And God said, "Not at all. Yet, if they know no way other than My way, they can hardly be said to freely choose obedience. Human beings alone, of all My creatures, have the privilege of deciding for themselves whether they will love, trust, and obey Me. I do not want blind obedience from My people; I want voluntary, loving, trusting obedience.
Lucifer immediately understood what God was asking of him, and he knew - and he knew that God knew - that many, many human beings would choose not to love their Creator. He felt sick to his stomach, just thinking about what it might be like to not worship God. He couldn't even imagine that. He fell to his knees, weeping.
"Oh, my God," he cried. "How will those poor creatures survive who do not choose Your way? How can any creature survive without You?" He looked up at his Creator tearfully, feeling torn asunder by the whole idea.
"They won't survive, son," God replied gently. "Those who will not choose Life will, by definition, not survive." Lucifer gasped in horror.
"You would kill them?" he cried.
And God said, "No, of course not. They will choose to live or they will choose to die. They will not be condemned to death by Me, but by their own choices and behaviors. I couldn't kill these people, son," He concluded. "I love them far too much."
"Oh, my Lord," Lucifer cried. "If there is any way possible for this task to be accomplished without my participation, please make it so! Is it really Your will that I do this thing, this horrible business of tempting mere creatures to turn against You, to encourage them to turn away from You, to persuade them not to believe in You? You want me to do all this to the very people You say You love so very much?"
God looked down upon His favorite angel and He pitied him. Nevertheless, He nodded. "It is because I love them so much that I have given them this enormous power," He said. "All you have to do, son, is show them an alternative - not force them to choose it. And they will choose. They are so constructed that even inaction constitutes choice. But it must be their own, voluntary choice, Lucifer. Not yours and not Mine."
"Please, my Lord," whimpered Lucifer. "Don't do this to them. Don't make me be the one to do it to them. Don't make me.... " he couldn't even complete the sentence. He couldn't even think about it.
God sighed. There was no avoiding it, however. He had to be the One to offer Lucifer a choice, to give His angel an alternative. It wasn't in Him to lie, to deceive; not even in the service of a greater good: the unfolding of His plan for humankind. He considered for a moment, shook His massive head slightly, and then said, very softly,
"Lucifer." The angel looked up, tears streaming down his face. "Remember that I have given you free will too, son," God said.
Lucifer stopped in mid-sob, startled. It was true. He alone, of all the angels, had free will. That meant he did not have to obey. He could choose not to do this thing. But if he didn't do it, he would lose so very much - everything, in fact, for which angels were created; everything that made existence worthwhile. The mere thought overwhelmed him.
"Please don't make me do it, Lord," he shuddered.
God raised His eyebrows, but said nothing. Time passed. Lucifer thought about it. For the first time in his life, he didn't want to obey his God. On the other hand, he loved his God too much to ever disobey Him. Lucifer just didn't want anything to do with this whole project.
"I don't want to do this," he whimpered.
God did not reply. More time passed. Lucifer considered the consequences of disobeying his Creator: the loss of His companionship for all eternity. That was definitely not an acceptable price to pay. He considered the consequences of obedience: human beings, whom God loved dearly, would be given the opportunity - the mere chance - to disobey. But Lucifer knew that humans were flesh-and-blood creatures; they had appetites and passions, and if they knew of any alternative way to behave, their curiosity would demand that they try it. There was no way they could escape, and millions would suffer eternal - ETERNAL - separation from God. If he took on this task and they listened to him, they would, anyway.
"It isn't fair," he wailed.
God was still silent. Lucifer grew angry. God's silence wasn't the least bit helpful. This was His people, His task, His will - and there wasn't any reason on earth or in heaven why He had to get Lucifer involved with it at all.
"I don't have to do it!" He shouted.
Still, God said nothing. This is ridiculous, thought Lucifer, angrily. God DID give him that freedom. He realized suddently that he couldn't avoid making a choice, for even doing nothing at all was choosing - to disobey. For a moment, he was shaken by fear. Anger against his God does not come naturally to an angel, after all. But his anger was great, and he shook off the fear furiously.
"I won't do it!" He shouted, his face red with anger.
God looked at him tenderly, lovingly, silently.
"Why don't You say something," Lucifer demanded.
"I have told you what I would have you do," God said gently. "What more would you have Me say?"
Lucifer realized that what he wanted God to say was that he did not have to do that which God asked him to do. What he wanted was for God to give him permission to disobey. For the first time since he had been created, Lucifer felt a pang of guilt. Quickly he told himself that this wasn't his fault; this was God's plan, and He was just trying to get Lucifer to do His dirty work. Humiliation, guilt, fear, frustration, resentment, and rage filled his heart, completely masking his natural angelic love for God, and he turned away from his Creator for the first time in his existence.
"Lucifer," God said softly. The angel turned back, his face set and sullen. "You could obey because you love Me, or because you trust Me and believe that I know what I ask of you. That is an alternative to what you are doing now." Lucifer paused, then burst anew into tears.
Lucifer threw himself at his Master's knees, pleading and sobbing. "Oh, Father," he said, "As you love me, do not set me to this task!" God drew back a little and lifted Lucifer to his feet, holding him gently by the shoulders.
"Lucifer," He said, "As you love Me, do as I ask you to do." Lucifer's tears stopped and shook himself free of God's grasp, his face again grew stony and sullen.
Lucifer glared at his Maker, his fists clenched. "How am I to love a God who would will something like this?" he shouted. "You're setting these people up for a terrible fall, and You know it. As long as I have existed, I have loved You, and I have obeyed You without question. But You are asking me to do something that is just plain wrong, setting these people against you, and it makes me absolutely sick!"
Suddenly, without any warning or conscious decision on his part, his heart was hardened and his choice was made. "Oh, I'll do it," he said resentfully. "I'll do a damned good job of it, too. Because You don't deserve their worship!" His lip curled in self-disgust. "And because I don't have the guts to disobey you." He stomped away in fury.
Lucifer had chosen obedience, but he had not chosen love. Therefore, he had not chosen life. He didn't realize that God had done for him the same thing He had asked him to do for mortals. Lucifer had made his first immoral choice. He didn't know, although his Creator did, that one day he would declare war on God, count his Creator as his enemy, and attempt to subvert even those who had chosen life, love, and trusting obedience.
God watched Lucifer stride away, His heart aching: Lucifer, the first created and the most loved of all His angels; Lucifer the Son of Morning; Lucifer, whose companionship God would no longer be able to enjoy. He shook His head sadly. Even knowing Lucifer would behave like this hadn't alleviated His sorrow.
His first-born Son came silently and stood at His side, and God whispered, "It has begun."
The One we have come to call Jesus laid His hand on His Father's shoulder in sympathy. "For God so loved the world..." he whispered, and God nodded, closing His eyes against His grief.
finis
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