Fully Devoted: The FallNäide

The Fall

What was always meant to be beautiful and whole instead became distorted and fractured when humanity chose their own desires over obedience to God. From the beginning, God wanted to partner with us, but we wanted to rule over Him. God had given Adam and Eve freedom to enjoy every aspect of creation with one notable exception:

... “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:16-17 NIV

This one restriction was too much. In the next chapter, we’re introduced to the serpent. He was more crafty than any of the other animals God had created. The serpent came and tempted the woman by telling her that eating from the tree would make her like God. It seemed too good for her to resist.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:6 NIV

This is when sin first enters God’s creation—when the first people turned their backs on God, trusted the serpent, and took what didn’t belong to them.

You might be wondering, “If eating from that tree was so bad, then why did God put it there in the first place? Was He setting them up to fail?” These are great and important questions. Here are two important ideas to consider:

1. God loves us enough to let us choose whether or not we’re going to follow Him. By putting this tree in the garden, we see that God places a very high value on our free will. Without choice, there can be no love. If this tree wasn’t there, then there wouldn’t really be a choice to make. Not eating from the tree would have been choosing to trust and obey God, but eating from the tree was a deliberate choice to reject God. He wasn’t setting Adam and Eve up to fail; He was honoring their ability to choose because love is always a choice.

2. God always intended to give His people the knowledge of good and evil, but that knowledge was meant to be something we received from Him, not something we take for ourselves. The tree wasn’t there to taunt or tempt the first humans. It was there to teach them to trust God and His timing. It’s similar to how parents will place presents under the Christmas tree before Christmas day. It’s not so their kids will be tempted to open them early, but so they will know a good thing is coming—they just have to wait. But, if instead of waiting for Christmas day to receive these gifts, the kids take them for themselves early, there will be negative consequences. The surprise is ruined, trust is broken, and the relationship is damaged.

In the New Testament, James, a leader in the early church and a brother of Jesus, helps us better understand what was going on by clarifying the character and nature of God:

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:13-17 NIV

Human beings rebelled against God’s authority and rejected His rule over their lives. And while we may not all be guilty of eating forbidden fruit, we are all guilty of disobeying God and doing what we want even when God says it’s wrong.

That’s why it matters that we understand what sin really is. It’s so much more than simply making a mistake—sin is a corruption that has distorted and infected all of God’s creation. It’s the disease of self-centeredness that blinds us to the image of God in ourselves and others. It tricks us into seeing ourselves and others as objects to be used instead of people to be loved.

And because human beings—God’s representatives, placed in charge of His creation—rebelled, they brought all of creation into rebellion against God with them. The damage of sin isn’t limited to our own personal guilt. The damage of sin threw all of God’s creation into a state of chaos and disorder.

The result is a fallen and rebellious world where things are not the way they should be. Instead of goodness, there’s evil. Instead of wholeness, there’s suffering. Instead of justice, there’s corruption. Instead of life, there’s death.

But human rebellion will never overpower God’s plan for redemption.

In the same chapter where sin enters, we catch the first glimpse of Jesus:

So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:14-15 NIV

Just a few verses after sin is introduced, God introduces the promise of a Savior—and that Savior is Jesus. God promises there will come a day when Jesus will crush the head of the serpent. The sacrifice of Jesus is already being previewed.

We rebelled against God, but Jesus redeemed us on the cross. And now, we’ve been invited by God to partner with Him to restore creation once again.

Journaling Questions

• What verse impacted you the most from the reading today? Why?
• Have you ever had a moment where you ran from God?
• What do you think about God’s gift of life being free to us? How does that make you feel?

Memory Verse

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NIV