The First Family

By Danny Saavedra

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

The first two people on earth, Adam and Eve, were the crowning jewel of God’s “good” creation, made in His image. They were the first family. But why did God create Adam, and by extension, all of us? What was the purpose for the creation of mankind? It’s a question we have all, at one time or another, wrestled with. “Why am I here?” 

The Bible provides some answers to this all-important question! Isaiah 43:7 tells us the first reason we were created is to glorify God. C.S. Lewis wrote, “In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.” And that’s the second reason why we were created—so we can enjoy God forever. Psalm 16:11 says that in the presence of God there is fullness of joy. Think of it like filling up on your favorite meal, the kind that truly satisfies. 

Before Jesus came, no one had ever experienced the purpose they were created for more than Adam and Eve! Think about it: They walked with God, talked with God, and enjoyed His presence. They got to live their calling and enjoy the fruits of the Garden (Genesis 2:15–16). 

And then came the fall—the first and worst family crisis. Adam and Eve allowed their pride and selfish impulses—their desire to be “like God”—to cloud their judgment. And because they allowed themselves to be deceived by the serpent, they, and all of us, fell from grace. The worst part is that the very thing they were seeking, to be like God, they already had. They bore His image and likeness and His imprint was on their heart and soul. 

And it was in this, the most tragic moment of human history, where we see the first step of God’s masterful plan of salvation revealed. Although they sinned and were judged, God promised that this wouldn’t be the end of the line. With the coming of death, there came the promise of life. In Genesis 3, God explains how it will all go down: Women will experience pain and labor as they bring new life into the world . . . but new life will come. Men will have toil and sweat in order to live, but they will live.

And then, in Genesis 3:21 (NLT), God gives us a preview of how He is going to fulfill this promise. It says, “And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.” You see, in order for God to clothe Adam and Eve and take away their shame, He had to kill an animal, to shed its blood. Why did He need to do that? Because the cost of our sin and shame is death “and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22 NIV). 

The story of Christmas is the moment when God’s promise of life became reality. How? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV).

Jesus came to take away our sins, to restore us to the purpose for which we were created. Because of Jesus, we can glorify and enjoy God even more intimately than Adam and Eve ever could. We not only get to walk with God, but we have the Spirit of God within us!