The next day Mr. Erwin sat on the bench in the garden waiting for Jay and Kay. He knew all those who want to know the truth must seek the truth, and when they came back to the garden by themselves, he knew they were ready to hear it. He was going to ask them about their day at school yesterday but decided that it didn't matter what challenges and situations they were facing. Whatever the challenge was it was just a symptom, a symptom of a deeper cause. Humans experience many different symptoms, such as addictions, fears, stress, anxiety, insecurity, and destructive behavior that are all tied to one root cause. The key was to help people understand and heal the cause of the symptom and the symptom would disappear.

Jay and Kay stood in front of Mr. Erwin, who stayed sitting on the bench with his crutches by his side.

“We think our negative thoughts come from ourselves and other people,” said Kay. She was still wearing a long-sleeved shirt to hide the cuts on her arm and tapped her foot on the ground as she talked. “People say negative things to us throughout our lives and then those thoughts become something we think on our own.”

“But if negative thoughts come from others, then where did the first negative thought come from?” asked Mr. Erwin. “How did the first person have a negative thought in the first place if it came from someone else? Also, why do people who grow up in 100% positive and supportive households and communities still have negative thoughts? And how come some people listen to the negative thoughts of others and some don't?”

Jay was a little confused. “So it starts with us then,” he said. “That's what I think. I can hear the negative thoughts in my head and I know they are from me.”

Mr. Erwin shook his head and responded, “If you believe that your negative thoughts come from you, ask yourself this question. Who would ever choose to have a negative thought? I wouldn't choose one. Would you?”

“No,” Jay said.

“I wouldn't choose one,” Kay responded.

“No one would choose a negative thought, so where do they come from?” asked Mr. Erwin.

“I have no idea,” said Jay, shaking his head with his shoulders slumped as usual. “I'm lost.”

“Thoughts are spiritual, not physical,” said Mr. Erwin. “No one has ever found a thought in their brain. It's not a physical thing. Your brain is the hardware. Thoughts exist like software in the internet cloud and are always being downloaded. Thoughts are always coming in just like dreams and nightmares do when we are sleeping. You don't choose your dreams and nightmares do you,” he asked?

Jay and Kay said “no” in unison while shaking their heads side to side.

“Thoughts are spiritual,” Mr. Erwin reiterated. “There's a spiritual battle going on between good and evil. We see this taking place in the world with killings and shootings, kidnappings, bombings, and other evil acts and we need to know that the battleground between good and evil begins in our heart, mind, and soul.”

“It's like the movies,” said Jay as he arched his back and stood up straight. “Star Wars, Black Panther, Superman, Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, are all stories of good versus evil.”

“You nailed it, Jay,” said Mr. Erwin. “Every epic story is a story of good versus evil. These movies resonate so much with us because the same battle we see on the movie screen is what we are experiencing in our soul and in the world. It's the major narrative in the universe and in our existence. Most believe in evil because they see it but they can't explain where it comes from. They tend to focus on the person committing an evil act. Many think evil comes from our human nature, but it is actually spiritual in nature. What people need to realize is there is an evil force that exists and is part of the fabric of our existence.”

“But why?” Jay blurted out as he looked at the forbidden tree. “Why does evil exist at all? I mean why did God even allow Adam and Eve to have a choice? Why couldn't it all just be good?”

“You just asked the question that the greatest thinkers, scholars, and theologians have asked since the beginning of time. I'm no scholar but I think God is the ultimate storyteller, and in every story, you must have conflict and struggle. You must have duality. Love and hate. Light and dark. Good and evil. Defeat and victory. You wouldn't know good without bad. You wouldn't know it was light unless you have experienced the dark.

“You're a moviemaker, Jay. Tell me what kind of movie would it be if the characters didn't make bad and good choices? Would there be any victory or triumph without struggle, conflict, and defeat along the way?”

“No,” said Jay emphatically. “There are key elements to every great story and the main character must make choices and evolve and we must see their transformation as they go through their struggle and face their conflict.”

“It's all about choices and transformation,” said Mr. Erwin. “At God's level there is no duality. It's all oneness. It's all love. It's all good. When he created our world, he created a world of duality in order to tell a story where we can make choices and have us experience and live out this story.

“To answer your question of why Adam and Eve were given a choice in the first place, they had to be given a choice. God had to create space for them to choose Him.”

Mr Erwin stopped for a moment then took a deep breath. He wanted the twins to truly grasp what he was about to say. He spoke a little slower, yet with more passion.

“Evil is the absence of God. This means that in the space between Man and God, evil exists. And this space is necessary because God had to give us a choice. He had to give us space to choose to love and obey Him. True love doesn't demand to be loved back. True love is freely given and the recipient is given a choice to love in return. If there was no choice and it was all good all the time, there would be no world, no story, and no us.”

It finally made sense to Jay. He said, “So there's a major narrative and story playing out on the movie screen of the universe and it is both the ultimate love story and epic battle between good and evil.”

“Yes,” responded Mr. Erwin. “Before there was Star Wars and Harry Potter there was God, Adam and Eve, and a serpent. And the story continues with us. God has a plan for our lives. He created us to be in partnership with Him. He made us in his likeness and image. He created us to live a life of goodness, love, and abundance. But then there is evil that exists in the space between us and God and it seeks to mislead us, to separate us from God, to destroy us, and to keep us from living the life God has created us to live.

“We have a choice,” said Kay. “I love that we have a choice. Life would be meaningless without it.”

“It is the ultimate choice, responded Mr. Erwin.You can choose to love and obey God and overcome evil with good or you can believe the lie and let evil win. It's a battle between good and evil and you are in the middle of it.”

“It's scary to know this,” said Kay.

“I agree,” said Mr. Erwin. “That's why it's not popular to talk about it. It's easier to ignore it, to pretend this isn't happening or be unmindful that it is happening. But when so many people, especially young people like you, are stressed, fearful, anxious, and even committing suicide, it's scarier not to talk about it. Look around and you'll see so many losing the battle. It's scarier to see all these people suffer, and they have no clue what's really going on and why they are really suffering. It's scarier to see so many clutter the problem with complexity by focusing on all the symptoms instead of understanding and focusing on the root cause. It's scarier to see so many losing a battle they have no idea they are in. If you don't know you are in a battle but your enemy does, you will surely lose.

“That's what's happening more frequently today. The battle has become more intense and is including more people, and they have no idea they are in a battle. So they are getting beat down on a daily basis. They think life is a playground but need to approach it like it's a battleground. When you know you are in a battle then you can win it. That's why I'm being so blunt about this.”

“How do you win the battle?” asked Jay. He felt like he was battling for his life every day at school and wanted to win for once.

“You have to know how the battle is being waged,” said Mr. Erwin. “That's why tomorrow I want to share with you the Five D's that evil uses to defeat you. Yesterday you asked how come Adam and Eve forgot who they were. I believe it's because evil used these Five D's to cause them to forget who they were and disobey God. These are the same Five D's evil continues to use to cause us to forget our identity so that evil can defeat us.

“In the story of Adam and Eve, evil uses a Serpent to be our enemy. In our story we face an enemy as well. Many call him the devil, but whatever you want to call him, he is crafty like the serpent and he has a plan to defeat you. I'm sharing these Five D's with you because they represent evil's only game plan to attack you. Once you know evil's game plan, you can counter it and win the battle.

“I am here to help you win the battle and once you do you will live the amazing life that God has for you.”