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I was recently having a conversation about Genesis and the creation of the Garden of Eden and what the purpose of God creating the tree of knowledge was. The individual was confused as to why was this tree created and Adam and Eve were granted access, if in the end it would bring death to those who ate of it.

God told Adam and Eve to not eat from the tree because, God, in His foreknowledge, knew that Satan would use it to tempt and deceive them, like a gang lurking to kidnap children by enticing them with candy. Thus, loving parents, concerned about their children's well-being, would advise them to not take from these sweets to avoid harm. Therefore, it is not because the tree is bad in itself, but because God knew Satan's conniving strategy, that He sternly warned Adam and Eve. Satan would have used anything to deceive Adam and Eve. If this tree was not created, Satan would have used something else because he was envious and determined to hurt humanity because he knew that God loves us exceedingly.

God created us in His image and likeness, unlike any creation. Knowledge is one of His attributes as He is All-Knowing. Mankind was tricked into taking from this tree without God's permission. Thus, taking from the tree, in itself, was not the cause of the sentence of death, but disobedience is what brought this fate to humanity. Therefore, when Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of this tree, their shame was revealed and they tried to hide from God. They did not repent. They did not know how. Thus, they needed to learn that repentance is the way to return to God.

With the knowledge of good and evil, we need to choose goodness, reject evil, and return to God. The Church gives us the rites of the Holy Mystery of Baptism to cleanse us from Original Sin and the Holy Mystery of Confession for the cleansing and renewal of our souls from our daily sins. Obeying God is a choice, a feature of one's free will. Repentance leads to living in God's grace and light. In the eternal life with Christ Jesus, we will continue to grow in knowledge in our glorified state.