Good morning…
Supporting the preaching series of our senior pastor, I crafted a devotional message to be sent to our Northside Church family today. As we fall on our face into God’s grace, what might we learn?
*******
In Dr. Bill’s summertime series, Rated M for Mature, we find our way to the most life-altering chapter of all. Genesis 3. Temptation. Original sin. The fall.
We all know the setting. The glorious Garden of Eden hosts harmony. With God. With nature. With true self. With each other. We all know the players. God, the Creator. God’s enemy, the crafty serpent. Adam, the first man. Adam’s God-given helpmate, the first woman. We all know the dilemma. God commands, “Don’t eat the forbidden fruit or you will die.” The serpent scoffs, “You will not die. Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
We all know the outcome. Eve takes a bite. Adam eats too. Immediately, they are filled with fear, shame, regret. Covering with fig leaves their own naked truth, they dart behind lush bushes. Anxious and embarrassed, they try to hide from our Father.
Then, the LORD meanders through the gorgeous garden in the cool of the day, calling out to the people he loves, “Where are you?” God sees them. God knows their best hiding places. And yet, God invites them to respond, personally.
Stumbling over each word, their blame game ensues. Adam blames Eve. Adam even blames God for giving him a faulty partner. Eve blames the serpent, “He deceived me, and I ate.”
Then, God structures things differently. For his enemy he says, “You will crawl on the ground, I will put enmity between you and my people, and my offspring ‘will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’” For the woman, God says, “From now on, childbirth will be painful, and you’ll face power struggles in your marriage.” For the man, God says, “The dry ground will resist you, and you’ll make a living by the sweat of your brow. Hard work will remind you: you are dust and to dust you will return.” And finally, he tells the first couple, “You and your ancestors will be expelled from Eden. For a time, you will be kept from eating fruit from the tree of eternal life.”
And yet, in the presence of innate human sinfulness, the grace of God multiplies. In verses 20 and 21 we are told, “Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Expanding into the New Testament, God reveals his redeeming plan.
For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17-18, NLT).
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22, NIV).
Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being (an individual personality); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit [restoring the dead to life] (1 Corinthians 15:45, AMPC).
Embodying both Adams: Today, how might we tap into the gracious gift of God’s life-giving Spirit?
******
To be raised up into the power of eternal life, first, our own best human efforts must fail. We fall on our face into God’s wonderful grace, as Christ restores us from death to abundant life.
…Sue…
