God Created Us, so Why Isn't life Perfect
Day 10
by Gini Crawford, MSW
God created us and our world perfectly
The world was a perfect place. Adam and Eve were created perfectly. They would never grow old, be sick or die. They would live forever. Nothing bad would exist for them. They and their descendants would possess only life, good, pleasure, abundance, peace, and harmony. They would never deal with death, pain, scarcity, toil, conflict, hunger, or any bad or evil thing. (Genesis 2:7-10, 15-25).
Adam and Eve got along with each other perfectly and with God perfectly. God literally walked in the garden with them, where He enjoyed companionship with them. (Genesis 3:8-9). I do not think we can begin to imagine the world in its perfect state since the effects of sin have changed it so greatly. So, what exactly happened?
Adam and Eve chose sin
In Genesis 2:16-17, God gave Adam and Eve just one loving command that they needed to obey, but they did not. Adam and Eve choose to disobey God by doing exactly the opposite of what He told them to do. They ate from the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil. This wasn't an oops but a choice they both decided to make. Immediately they knew their choice was wrong and had changed everything.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17 ESV®
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their sin threw their existence into chaos. Their relationship with God was clearly broken since they started hiding from Him instead of wanting to walk with Him. They were now led by their sin nature and had become rebellious against God. The world started to become a hostile place to live in. Sad but true, sin brought evil and death. They went from knowing-experiencing only good, to knowing-experiencing evil too. I don't have to explain evil to you because you experience it, see it and read about it. (Genesis 3:1-13).
You might be wondering what exactly sin is. Sin is everything we do that God's Word tells us not to do, or everything we don't do that God’s Word tells us to do. To put it simply, sin is disobeying God. Sin also includes our thoughts. If we think thoughts that are against what God desires, it is sin. You might be thinking, "Where did she get that one?" Jesus stated this in Mark 7:20-23,
And he (Jesus) said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." Mark 7:20-23 ESV®
Be aware that sin starts in the mind (heart) and if you don't deal with those sinful thoughts, they become sinful actions too. Here is an example from my past: My neighbor had a dog that regularly pooped right by my mailbox, even though I had asked her nicely to stop the dog. Every time I saw the neighbor or her dog, I would think some pretty negative thoughts about them. I realized if I didn't forgive her and the dog, I would angrily scream something nasty at her, sooner or later.
Did you know sin starts in your mind?
God's sovereignty gave us a free will
A logical question would be, why did God give Adam and Eve even one command, since He knew (Psalm 139:1-4) they would disobey Him? God is sovereign over all things - the earth and the heavens, what we know and don't even comprehend. No king, ruler or force, human or demonic, can even come close to controlling or conquering God. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. (2 Chronicles 20:6; Isaiah 40:10-31). Yet, amazingly in God's sovereignty, He gave us all the incredible gift of a free will. Granted our free will is limited compared to God's, but it still gives us abundant freedom to choose, even whether to obey and love God or not. God's one command was a simple and loving way to give Adam and Eve a free will even towards their Creator.
Just like Adam and Eve, as Christians we can choose to obey God or not. A famous Christian speaker and author who is dead now, chose to live a secret life of sin. This man was a wonderful teacher for God, who led people to Jesus Christ and blessed many through his ministry. I enjoyed his teaching. His hidden life of sexual impurity came to light shortly after his death, and has put the ministry he founded in an awful situation. His family whom he loved, is now living a nightmare of feelings and questions. Choosing sin never has a happy ending.
Consider this: You can choose to make the right choice which is spelled out in God's Word and has wonderful consequences, or choose what your sinful desires are whispering to you, and end up like the man in the illustration above, hurting yourself and many others. You have a choice.
Life Application
Sin changed everything
Considering Genesis chapters one and two, what type of world did God want us to live in? If you have the time read Genesis 1 and 2 again.
What was Adam's and Eve's relationship with God before and after sin came into the world? What type of world did we end up with because of sin? How did sin change their descendants' lives? Read Genesis 3 and 4:1-17.
There is hope! After Adam and Eve's disastrous choice, they realized God was loving them with His one command and that His love wouldn't abandoned them but always be there as it was before. They realized God would forgive them and their descendants by what He said to them in Genesis three. His loving action on the cross would forgive their sins and ours. God's love was there for Adam and Eve as it is for us even after sinning. If we focus on God's love, I believe that will make us want to obey Him. (Matthew 1:21; Ephesians 2:1-9). How do you focus on God's love for you?
Reflect on Genesis 3:8.