So is man called to exercise his dominion under God. It is to be a life of fellowship with God, of love for one another, of responsibility for all God s creation. The answer is that this particular tree is just as good as any other, but if man is to be strong in faith and character he must be tested. If a child, for example, is to grow morally, there must not only be instruction in righteousness, but also clear warning against evil. Some things are simply forbidden.
Innocence is pretty, but character is far better and it only comes through trial and testing.
Were there no forbidden tree, were man free to do absolutely everything he pleased, he could hardly be worthy of God. The test is there, but if man meets it gladly and says that he will not do what God has forbidden, there is no temptation and of course no ensuing sin. The tragedy is that man allows the test to become a temptation by becoming gradually convinced that God who has given permission for everything else is unfair in not letting him do this one other thing. Man, who should gladly recognize that the test is for his own good and therefore should strongly resist if it becomes a temptation, begins rather to focus his attention upon it. Soon this one tree becomes so important that temptation becomes almost overpowering.