Have you ever watched a two-year-old trying to get a beloved toy back from a sibling or play-date buddy? Violence. Who taught a two-year-old to forcefully grab the toy, bite the kid, shove her sister, and lord over her victim when she already has a fake cupcake from the miniature kitchen (never mind that there are five other identical cupcakes strewn about on the floor)? Or, who taught your four-year-old niece to blame her aunt who lives 180 miles away when confronted about the “Big Apple Red” nail polish streaking up and down the bathroom walls? Children reveal the worst kept secret about humanity—we all have a propensity to lie, cheat, steal, and harm. But why?
Broken
Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.
eden has fallen
Yesterday we realized the very good news of the Trinity’s love for us and our role and responsibility to be like God—just, good, loving, kind. What happened? God never forces love, so when he made humanity, he gave us the choice to love him in return. Part of our love for God gets expressed through our obedience to God. Adam and Eve faced the choice to obey God’s command—eat whatever you want, the whole garden is yours, abundance and goodness at your fingertips, but don’t eat from this one tree—or to disobey and listen to the voice of another. In God’s good creation humans sat atop the created order, but now Adam and Eve chose to put themselves under the influence of the serpent. They were meant to rule, not succumb. In a moment of arrogance, weakness, and confusion, our first parents doubted God and listened to the voice of a liar. Cosmic terrorism broke into God’s perfect creation and everything felt the effects of sin. Everything.
the consequences of sin
Lions no longer lounge with lambs—they hunt. Trees no longer easily produce fruit—they labor. The sun no longer warms our bodies—it scorches. And humans no longer enjoy unhindered fellowship with God—we suffer. The effects of Adam and Eve’s rebellion reverberated from Eden and reached the farthest galaxy and penetrated the smallest atom. Sin broke everything. One of the far-reaching effects of sin gets passed down through every umbilical cord. Our first parents’ rebellion altered our DNA, and now every human is born with the propensity to do great harm and is born into a world that testifies to this truth. A full picture of the gospel recognizes that we need saving from the cosmic brokenness that was inaugurated in the garden.
The gospel declares the good news that someday we will return to Eden, lions will lounge with lambs, trees will freely feed us, the sun will tickle our skin with warmth, and we will walk with God.
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Daily Question
Have you considered the far-reaching effects of sin created by Adam and Eve’s rebellion? How do you see this play out in your own life and in the world around you?
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We are a result of sin but GOD provides a way out, we just must decide to live as Jesus lived listen for the voice of our Heavenly Father! We can start our Heavenly life here by listening to our Fathers voice all day long going to HIM in prayer as Jesus did! We don’t want to fall into the sins of lusting everything for our selfish desires! But to obey and do HIS WILL!
Well the depth of our sins are immeasurable but so is the grace that we are given by God. Of course it would take us years to sit and think about the snowball effect Adam and Eve’s rebellion has caused us but there is no changing the past. We as believers, need to focus on living for God in the here and now and allow grace to be given when the opportunity presents itself.
It’s A Sodom And Gomorra World … Share Jesus With Everyone. Share On Social Media . Share in letters, with books , movies ect . Share If Equip that’s how I discovered IF! Have IF Tables With unbelievers who might not come to a bible study . Everyone likes a meal and you can share probing questions to get them thinking . Evan as couples a IF Table can work . There are a lot of archive If Tables to use with food recipes! Tell them you are trying a new recipe and need their taste buds ! Gods Peace To All On this First Day of Lent…
The suffering has gotten so great. I see it all around me. Physical, emotional, mental suffering. We have all been effected by Adam and Eve’s rebellion – but what a glorious promise is ours through the good news of Jesus Christ. If we had never known suffering we would never have an understanding of the grace and mercy and love of God.
It would be easy to blame Adam and Eve for everything. However, God gave us free will and choices. We get to decide what we will and won’t do, be it good or bad. I am so grateful that God loves us so much that even though we don’t deserve it, He gave Jesus for our sins and to save us. How completely selfless! If I’m being honest, I am a little frustrated that I could be lounging around in a meadow with the sun shining on me and petting and playing with a beautiful tiger ?. One day though, one day! Thank you Jesus! ❤️
Amen my friend!
I see in myself the sinful tendency to blame others and refuse to take responsibility for my faults and wrong doing. I see the failure to care for others escalating into so many different evils. I am so grateful that Jesus sees through me, that He died so that God could forgive me, and that by His Holy Spirit He is changing me into the image of Himself.
It is the theological conundrum of the ages….the ‘big Why’ of suffering particularly of those we ‘think’ innocent ….such as little children or deformed infants, the suffering of the elderly, pain and suffering in devastating illness, natural disasters that take thousands of lives, destruction of homes and the fact that all humanity suffers and dies. We are to trust and live in faith beyond all these questions….It is the human condition that has been caused by sin. Mankind…Adam…has sinned, we inherit this sinful nature…we are bad, we sin and thus we suffer. It is a hard concept….to analogize…A parent punishes a disobedient child who makes mistakes or does something wrong to tell that child…".you are bad…you are sinful…you will be punished".
Sometimes it’s easy to look at "small sins" as no big deal, to be brushed aside or overlooked. It was just a piece of fruit, right? But if we look deeper and truly see sin for what it is, we will see this sad separation from God: doubting His word. The rebellion of Adam and Eve reaches generations and generations in this broken world. I think of this story and try to remind myself to plant the RIGHT seeds: ones of faith and gratitude, not of doubt and defiance.
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 3:19,23-24,6:23 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Romans%203:19,23-24,6:23&version=NIV
We are always reaching for anything but God to fill our desires. It causes broken relationships. It destroys our health and self worth. Satan sets every trap he can to distract us from God. He makes society tell or teach is that it is ok to lie, cheat and steal. All is wrong but what God’s way.Deb