Some dismiss the Bible as ancient and arcane, but for me it is alive and contemporary. This past week’s Bible reading reminded me that all the maladies of modern society are present in the opening chapters of Genesis. When Adam sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, innocence, transparency and personal responsibility were all casualties of his Fall.
It was Adam’s sin that derailed humanity. The prohibition about the fruit was given to Adam prior to Eve’s creation. God entrusted Adam with the role of spiritual leader and his was the greater and damning sin. No change is reported until the man ate of the fruit … “Then,” the Bible says, “the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized they were naked.” (GENESIS 3:7) When Paul wrote about the coming of sin and then salvation, he did not contrast Christ to Eve. He said, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ will all be made alive.” (1 CORINTHIANS 15:22) Every human is born into Adam’s sin and so are destined to die. But every human who is, by faith, born into Christ is granted eternal life.
Adam’s spiritual fall had an immediate and tangible impact on his relationship with his wife and his God. The two great commands of love for God and love for your fellow human were shattered:
- Shame replaced innocence … “they … made coverings for themselves.”
- Hiding replaced transparency … “I was afraid … so I hid.”
- Blame replaced responsibility … “The woman you put here with me.”
Eons have passed, and these instincts of sin still wreak havoc in our relationships. Praise God for the curse reversing work of Jesus Christ. We still live in a fallen world and struggle against sin, but God has opened the door to restoration.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 CORINTHIANS 5:18-19)
