Lent Day 10

Good morning!

Today, our Scripture readings are from 1 Corinthians 15:47 and Romans 5:6-15.

This one today is hitting different.  While I agree with the author's assessment of the way that sin spreads within us, I am going to expand a little on the concept of sin entering into the world and the Word becoming flesh.  Sin is like trying to clean oil out of a piece of clothing with water and a cloth.  You just don't, you just smear it around and spread it out.

Sin entered into humanity through the deceit of the serpent and the disobedience of Adam and Eve.  If we really get down to it though, the sin occurred before the fruit was ever touched or bitten.  Eve, when speaking with the serpent, doubted God, lied to the serpent, and ultimately separated humanity from God in her heart before ever biting into that fruit.  The fruit was the ultimate act of sin, and Adam sealed the deal when he also chose to doubt God's goodness and love and eat the fruit, defend Eve's actions by trying to place the burden on the serpent, and hide from God in the garden.  When it comes down to it, humanity, through Adam and Eve, separated itself from God through doubt, fear, and disobedience.  And now doubt, fear, and disobedience run rampant through our world and societies and manifest themselves in much more violent and devious ways.

Jesus came into the world as the Word made flesh, fully man and yet fully divine.  Jesus was present in the beginning and when Adam and Eve originally sinned.  Jesus was aware of it all before he ever arrived in this world as a man!  He knew his ministry involved undoing all that humanity had done since Adam and Eve, yet still offered humanity free will in the process.  Jesus offers us hope, salvation, and faith.  He offers to transform that sin that causes hurt, doubt, and fear.  We don't have a choice about the sinful world in which we enter, but we do have a choice to accept the gift of grace, mercy, love, compassion, and forgiveness that is Jesus Christ. 

We are asked to lay out a comparison of Jesus and Adam in the Venn diagram provided in the devotional, but I'm going to ask you to read the rest of the Romans 5.  I read several translations this morning and the God's Word translation hit the nail on the head for me!  It states multiple times in the last few verses of Romans 5 this: "There is no comparison between God's gift (Jesus) and the one who sinned (Adam)." 

I pray that you understand the heritage of where we came from and why the world is the way it is, but more than that, I pray that you know God's gift, Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior, the one who overcomes that heritage and any need to attempt to compare God's gift to humanity's failure!

Sorry, I got a little long winded this morning!

Blessings,

Pastor Jesse