Throwing It All Away
We can learn a lot from early man. I’m not talking about evolutionary theory or the supposed, “missing link,” I’m talking about Adam, the very first man. He, like all of us, was created in the image of God. Adam knew what it was like to walk and talk with God in the garden of Eden. He knew the incomparable pleasure of an unmarred relationship with his Creator. Despite all this, Adam gave up everything for a taste of forbidden fruit. What can we learn from Adam?
There is no grief so great as a lost opportunity. When we mourn for a lost loved one, what do we most desire? We’d probably like the opportunity to hug them one more time, to tell them how much we love them, and to right any wrongs we might have caused. Adam must have thought a lot about missed opportunities after he had been cast out of the garden. God no longer walked and talked with him as He had done before. Adam’s close, intimate relationship with God was gone. That opportunity was lost because there was something between Adam and God that could not be reconciled. Just as you can’t un-speak a word or un-ring a bell, Adam found that he couldn’t undo sin. Tragically, it was only after he had been cast out of the garden that Adam truly realized what he’d lost. So it is with us, that many times we do not realize the grief that sin can cause until we have already made the wrong choices.
You cannot “pass the buck” with sin. Have you ever been caught red-handed and tried to talk your way out? When Adam was confronted with his sin, he began his explanation by blaming both Eve and God, “the woman whom You gave me, she gave me of the tree (Genesis 3:12).” Our culture is bent on shirking responsibility when it comes to sin. Our sin is determined, we are told, by our genetic background, our early childhood experiences, and peer pressure which is just too much to endure. God says, however, that we will not be tempted beyond our power to resist (cf. 1 Cor 10:13)! He leaves us, like Adam, without excuse where sin is concerned. Adam could have (and should have) told his wife, “no,” when she offered him the fruit. How many of us have been in the same situation as Adam and tried to, “pass the buck?”
We need a Savior. You have to wonder if Adam personally regretted eating the forbidden fruit. As he labored in the fields, day in and day out, Adam had plenty of time to think about what he had done. He probably remembered his conversations with the Lord in the garden, how they had talked about all the good things the Lord had made. Remembering all this, Adam must have come to realize his own utter bankruptcy. How could he make things right with God? What could be done? Apparently, God had told Adam and his descendants that they needed to sacrifice to Him (cf. Gen. 4:3-5), but in the back of his mind Adam must have known that sacrificing animals could never rebuild his relationship with God. That’s like putting a band-aid on a broken arm. For true spiritual healing to take place, Adam needed a Savior. He needed God to take the first step in making things right. Praise God that He did exactly that (John 3:16)! Are you poor in spirit? Are you spiritually bankrupt? May all of us see our need for the Savior and come to obey His will! — John Baker