Willfulness - Part 2

Gone in an instant was the uninhibited communion Adam and Eve shared with their Father. From the moment they touched the fruit, their ability to receive and extend God’s love was hampered. Adam and Eve were now infected with sin. Life was significantly dimmer on the other side of the Fall. Their view of God, as well as one another, was obstructed by their own willfulness. Enter the self-deceptive practices of denial, repression, and rationalization. Adam blamed God and Eve, while Eve blamed the serpent. In a moving act of compassion, God met them in the midst of their crisis with love, grace, and mercy; both had opportunities to repent, but neither chose to.

From Chapter Two of my book, The Conditioned Mind.