Do you suppose God might have known what the consequences of sin’s presence with us here on earth would be? Of course He did. God knew Adam, human as he was, would fall into sin. Standing outside of time, He sees the beginning and end of everything all at the same time. So how could He ever have imagined that things might turn out differently?

The only logical answer is that our confrontation with the power of sin is simply a part of His plan to bring His purpose for our lives to fruition. Yet this doesn’t mean that God has decided to tolerate sin. He detests sin, not only because it’s a personal affront to His goodness and holiness, but also because of its destructive power in people’s lives.

The lesson for all of us here is that tolerating sin in our own lives is simply unacceptable. Let’s forget the excuses, then, that sin is merely an inescapable part of life, and move on to the freedom God designed us for.