What has gone wrong with mankind? Why is there murder and mayhem, wars and killing throughout this wonderful, astonishing, beautiful earth?
Trudy has all she needs, but why is she obsessive about having a house better than her sister? Tom has a near-perfect family and a loving wife, but why does he imagine sleeping with his young female colleague? When asked about his golf game, why does Ethan routinely reduce his tally by 5 or 6? Why is Margerie always complaining? And why does Rod love to spread gossip? To understand, we have to go back to the beginning.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And “the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.…And the LORD God commanded the man. ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for when you eat of it you will surely die.’” (Genesis 1:1,8,9,16,17)
Our ancient parents, Adam and Eve, were created upright and perfect. Life was bliss. They enjoyed the garden and walked with God in the cool of the day. They had the ability to continue to enjoy lives of plenty and sweet communion with God. Or they could freely choose to disobey God’s one, simple law and reap the consequences. “Don’t eat or you will die.”
This simple command and warning formed the initial covenant defining mankind’s relationship with God. It was a covenant which implied a promise from God to commune with them, to provide abundantly for their health and enjoyment, to grant them the blessing of marriage plus the fulfilling task of caring for creation, and all this into posterity. It also contained a warning of consequences upon disobedience. This command, promise, and warning defined the original covenant between God and man.
Seduced by the devil, Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and gave some to her husband. Although free to reject Eve’s offer, Adam ate and thus also willfully broke God’s simple law.
As a result of this act, the consequences warned by God began to appear. They began to die. Their former state of holiness and happy communion with God was shattered. Guilt pervaded their souls and they hid from God. They became sinfully polluted in all parts of their being. And they were cast out of Eden. Their bodies, once immortal, took on mortality; their cells began to deteriorate and die.
Since all mankind are the offspring of Adam and Eve, all inherit their sinful propensity to disobey God’s commandments. “Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all men because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jer. 17:9).
Paul describes mankind’s present, natural condition. “You were dead in your transgressions and sins…you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air [Satan], the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest we were by nature objects of wrath” (Eph. 2:1-3).
Unless God would initiate a rescue and rehabilitation action, Adam and Eve and all their posterity would live without hope. They would eternally die. Fortunately, God took the initiative to establish a pathway to redemption. In our day we know that pathway is through faith in the covering forgiveness and righteousness of Christ. Without redemption in Christ, we are objects of wrath. Make no mistake, we have all broken God’s righteous standards. In ourselves, we are without hope. We will stand before the Judge of all the Earth to face the consequences of our law-breaking. We live East of Eden, but with a longing to return to paradise.
Let us then speedily respond to the gospel of Christ. He died to pay the punishment we deserve for our sins. He rose again from the grave to assert his power over death and his ability to save us from the penalty and destructive nature of our sins. Oh, believe in him! Confess and repent of your sins. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.”
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
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