Devotion

Have you ever created something that you were truly proud of, and then had it ruined or discarded by someone else? It’s moments like this that can shed light on how God may have felt to watch Adam and Eve choose sin and death over life and relationship.

In Genesis 3, God’s good creation was marred by Adam and Eve’s sinful rebellion. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s command to not eat of a certain, forbidden tree; they didn’t trust that God’s way was best or that his words were true. They believed that they would make better gods than God himself. The result of their rebellion was brokenness and death. Remember how, in Genesis 1, God crafted humanity for relationship? After Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God for the first time – their relationship with him was broken. They had to leave the garden and be separated from God’s presence. God, in his holiness and perfection, couldn’t be in communion with fallen humanity.

But thankfully, that wasn’t the end of the story. Even after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, he had a plan to make things right. In Genesis 3:15, God gave the first hint of that plan. He promised that one day, a descendant of Eve would defeat the serpent who had tempted them to sin. In other words, evil wouldn’t have the final word. God was already pointing to Jesus! From the very beginning, God planned to send his Son to rescue us from sin and death and make it possible for us to have a relationship with him again. Through faith in Jesus, we can know God personally and experience the abundant life he offers (John 10:10). Even better, God gives us the Holy Spirit to live in everyone who trusts in Christ, so the presence with God that was lost in the garden is restored in us.

This Christmas season let us rejoice in the One who came to conquer death and make all things right again.