Genesis 3:9-24
The scene between God and our first parents would be humorous if it weren’t so tragic. Here are some other consequences of sin. See if some of these things sound familiar:
1) The blame game. What a man Adam is! So quick to face up to his responsibility! He blames both God (“the woman you put here with me”) and of course his beloved wife. As spiritual leaders, one of our main duties is the protection of our wives from spiritual harm, and Adam (literally his name means “The Man”) displays sheer cowardice in this whole exchange. But don’t just point your finger at “the man.” His wife points to the Serpent who “deceived” her. Yes Mother Eve, you might've been lied to, but you chose to believe it because it appealed to you.
2) The curse. Think for a moment about the most beautiful piece of creation you’ve ever seen. Maybe you’ve seen deep canyons, or stark deserts, or sparking rivers. Maybe you’ve seen mountains that literally take your breath away. Maybe you’ve seen forests, thick and teeming with life. When you see how beautiful this world can be, keep this in mind: You’ve never seen this world the way it was designed to be. Nor have I. As awe-inspiring as this world can be, we’ve only seen the sin-wrecked version. It’s like a Mona Lisa that someone mutilated with a knife less than five minutes after the artist completed it.
3) Death. Romans 5:12-21 is very clear that death was another “companion” who walked through the door our first parents opened. We were not designed to die. Like that Mona Lisa, we've been defaced by sin. When the Lord warned them against the fruit in 2:17, he literally told them that “dying you shall die.” You might ask, “Did God fail to deliver on his threat? He didn’t strike them dead that day, did he?" The answer to this question is yes, they did die. They died spiritually the moment they decided to eat the fruit, and as a result of that spiritual death, they would die physically in a few years. Death is a separation: When you die physically, your soul separates from your body, and when you die spiritually, you're separated from God. If The Lord is the source of all life, then how could separation from him be anything but death? If we're separated from the source of heat, how could we be anything but colder?
Now that we’ve looked at the bad news, let’s look at the good news tomorrow.
Father God, rescue me from all forms of the blame game. I'm responsible for my sinful choices, and no one else. Help me avoid Adam’s example: When I sin, may I run not away from you, but towards the only hope I have.
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