I have so often wondered why God allowed sin to exist in the first place. I know all of the arguments from free will and God's desire to have a unique spiritual relationship with humanity, but still, why allow all of this pain and suffering? I really don't have a great answer. I do remember my theology professor saying in seminary that there was no good explanation. That sin at the core is irrational. It makes no real sense. When I read the Genesis account and think of Adam and Eve with the perfect bodies, in the perfect place, with a perfect relationship with God, and then think how they threw it all away to "be like God, knowing good from evil," I just can't understand it.
I also cannot completely explain how or why Satan appeared as a serpent and why the serpent was cursed in the way he was or what that has ultimately to do with Satan. Again, I've read all sorts of reasonable responses, but still it seems so strange that temptation would come through a serpent, to the woman, and then to the man. I am reluctant to speculate too much beyond what Scripture says, but this I know; sin is horrible and its effects are devastating.
Another thing the Lord showed me in my reading of this text is the way in which sin seems to function now in our lives. God gave a clear command to not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:16). He also gave this command to Adam, before woman was made, so it was Adam's responsibility to pass it along. Apparently he did not do so clearly, because misquotes God when she says that the Lord said, "you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die." God didn't say you could not touch it, only that you could not eat it. I think we often misunderstand the Word and will of God, adding more demands than even the Lord requires. I think too that perhaps when she did touch it (v6) and nothing happened, she may have said to herself, "hey, this is ok, I'll go ahead and eat." But when she did eat, that's when sin came. She then took the fruit to Adam, and he ate too. He should have known better, having received the command directly from God, but he did it anyway. Immediately they died spiritually, and fellowship with God was broken in disobedience. The relationship God had established had been severed by Adam, and they were ashamed. Guilt came into the heart and they did know good and evil not by precept, but by practice. They knew evil experientially.
When God came to them He questioned them in their sin, and then covered them with skins, the first shedding of blood. The curses were enacted and they were banished from paradise; not so much the paradise of the garden, but the intimacy of fellowship with God and with one another. What a shame.
I think we sin in a very similar manner. We misunderstand the will of God like Eve, or we do know the explicit will of God like Adam, yet we determine to disobey the Lord anyway. Sin entices us. It is pleasing and desirable, so we take it, and do what God says not to do. After we sin, we are ashamed and guilty, so we try and cover it up. What we fail to see is that the wage of sin is death, and the curse of sin is separation from God and from others.
Many see the first good news of the gospel in Gen. 3:15, where God promises that the seed of woman will be at enmity (an enemy of) Satan. This Seed will be bruised by Satan on the heel, but He will crush the head of the ancient serpent. We know this Seed to be Jesus Christ.
There's so much that could be said from this text, but at the most basic level we should learn to shun sin and seek the Lord and His will in all our ways. I struggle with that every day, but I remind myself that God has a better plan than my foolish desires can yield.
In C. S. Lewis' "The Magicians Nephew," Digory is sent by Aslan, the Lion (Christ), to retrieve an apple from a garden. Aslan tells Digory to bring it to him. Digory goes and retrieves the apple, entering the garden through the gate. The Witch (Satan) scales the wall and gets her own apple, and eats it. The apple gives her immortal life. She then tempts Digory to take the apple not to Aslan, but to his ailing mother who is about to die. He can use it heal her and save her life. Digory longs to save his mother, but he obeys Aslan and returns the fruit to Him per His instruction. As Digory gives over the apple, he weeps, believing his mother will surely perish. Aslan, however, has better plans. He tells Digory to throw the apple. He does, and it sinks into the earth and begins to immediately spring up into a new tree that bears its own silver apples. Aslan tells Digory to take one of the apples back to His mother, and that it will save her, and she will live long and happily. Digory asks if the original apple would have given his mother life. Aslan answers yes, it would do what it was made to do, but it would be a long and miserable life, because it would have not been according to Aslan's (Christ's) will. Furthermore, because the Witch had stolen and eaten her own apple, she would live, but she would live miserably and with a bitter hatred and avoidance of anything that had to do with the tree. Thus, the tree Digory planted would protect the people of Narnia for many years to come.
When we do it God's way, He does the unexpected, and it is always good. When we rebel against Him, we kill ourselves and those around us with pain. With God's help, let us do His will, and by His grace, let us be healed.
Check out this video on youtube if you have 10 minutes to spare:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD04WfpKG1A
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
ReplyDeletebefore you were born I set you apart." Jer.1:5. This verse is clear, the Father had already set us apart. But why we did we sin and continue to sin? I agree with you Pastor Keith sin entices us, and might I add, sometimes we dive into it. How? Suddenly, we begin to feel disinterested in doing God's will in our lives. Instead of staying close to His plan for us, we begin doing things our way. Afterall, our neighbors, friends, family, and coworkers who does not profess Christ seem to have it better and easier than we do. Before we know it we feel so much shame that instead of repenting we continue to rebel. Not realizing that the suddenly guilt or shame is the Lord calling us to come back. We are not immune to sin no matter how long we've been a Christian. We must realize that we have a foe-and his goal is to destroy Christ through our testimony. Can I be bold to say that we the saints of God are but sinners saved through His grace who are prone to fall but can and should get up? 1 John 1:9 paves the way for us to reconnect with Christ. He is faithful-always waiting for us until we cross the finish line.