Focal passage: Genesis 3:1-7, 14-19
We ruined a perfect relationship with God through our sin.
My husband recently purchased a bed for his dog Max, and I have never seen a puppy love a mattress more. Each evening as we drag the bed into his favorite spot, Max barks uncontrollably and runs around in circles. He is so excited about the prospect of relaxing on memory foam he can hardly stand it.
Or at least that’s what I thought.
As I made my morning trek to the coffee maker earlier this week, I felt something squishy underneath my feet.
Turning on the lights, I assessed the situation and discovered that our living room was covered in tiny slobbery pieces of foam. Instead of treasuring the good gift from his owner, Max had chewed his mattress into pieces. It was ruined.
As I stood there watching Max wallow in his disaster, I was reminded of the disaster in which we find ourselves today.
You see, God created a beautiful earth – a paradise for His beloved humans to manage and enjoy.
But instead of living in communion with Him, Adam and Eve chose to sin. They believed the lies of a deceptive serpent over the voice of their Maker and disobeyed God’s commands.
This disobedience brought consequences and a curse that plagues the earth even today.
Like Adam and Eve before us, we sin when we do not obey God. And like Adam and Eve, because of our sin, we face consequences – separation from God and the suffering that comes from living in a fallen world.
I’ll be able to order a new mattress for Max, but more than likely, he will destroy his next dog bed, too. The chewing problem is not going away. But praise God, this is not true for our sin problem. Because of God’s great and undeserved love, we have hope that eventually the curse will be destroyed. In Genesis 3:15, God declares that He will send someone to defeat the serpent. He says, “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” There may be no hope for Max, but there is hope for us!