Day 29: Genesis 3:17-19
Devotional
READ GENESIS 3:17-19
Our kids are at the phase of life where their best excuse when they get into trouble is: “It’s not my fault!” Apparently, that is literally the oldest excuse in the book, and we know it when we see it!
Adam and Eve have been caught in blatant disobedience when they believed the serpent’s lies and ate forbidden fruit. In the previous verse, God had already punished the serpent and Eve, and in today’s passage, the attention turns to Adam. You can almost hear the parental disappointment in God’s voice: “You should’ve known better, Adam.” Adam’s sin was not that he listened to his wife; it was that he didn’t stand up for the truth when she invited him to participate. Adam also failed to protect Eve while the serpent was leading her astray. He did not live out his God-given role as a husband, and as a consequence of his failure, separation from God and hardship entered the picture.
God had given Adam and Eve abundance in the garden, Heaven on earth, and He gave them work to do as they cared for His creation. However, through their disobedience and consequences of sin, Adam and Eve were separated from God and the fruitful blessings He wanted to freely give to them. Consequently, their work became difficult and frustrating, continually resulting in thorns and thistles. Just as maintaining a garden or a field takes diligent, and often difficult, cultivation and care, it’s no different in our spiritual lives. Sin creates thorns in our spiritual soil, making it more difficult to experience God’s blessings. But through consistent and diligent cultivation of our relationship with Jesus, we can begin to experience the fruitfulness God intends for us.
Christ has taken on our curse by dying on a cross and being buried in the ground. He took on all the consequences of Adam’s original sin through that death. And now, our hope is in the Good News that Jesus rose from the grave and offers eternal life as a free gift—to Adam, to me, and to you.
Our kids are at the phase of life where their best excuse when they get into trouble is: “It’s not my fault!” Apparently, that is literally the oldest excuse in the book, and we know it when we see it!
Adam and Eve have been caught in blatant disobedience when they believed the serpent’s lies and ate forbidden fruit. In the previous verse, God had already punished the serpent and Eve, and in today’s passage, the attention turns to Adam. You can almost hear the parental disappointment in God’s voice: “You should’ve known better, Adam.” Adam’s sin was not that he listened to his wife; it was that he didn’t stand up for the truth when she invited him to participate. Adam also failed to protect Eve while the serpent was leading her astray. He did not live out his God-given role as a husband, and as a consequence of his failure, separation from God and hardship entered the picture.
God had given Adam and Eve abundance in the garden, Heaven on earth, and He gave them work to do as they cared for His creation. However, through their disobedience and consequences of sin, Adam and Eve were separated from God and the fruitful blessings He wanted to freely give to them. Consequently, their work became difficult and frustrating, continually resulting in thorns and thistles. Just as maintaining a garden or a field takes diligent, and often difficult, cultivation and care, it’s no different in our spiritual lives. Sin creates thorns in our spiritual soil, making it more difficult to experience God’s blessings. But through consistent and diligent cultivation of our relationship with Jesus, we can begin to experience the fruitfulness God intends for us.
Christ has taken on our curse by dying on a cross and being buried in the ground. He took on all the consequences of Adam’s original sin through that death. And now, our hope is in the Good News that Jesus rose from the grave and offers eternal life as a free gift—to Adam, to me, and to you.
Personal Reflection
- How have disobedience and consequences of sin made your life harder, especially your spiritual life?
- Have you accepted God’s gift of eternal life through faith? How are you cultivating your relationship with Jesus as you seek to follow Him?
Posted in The Beginning Devotionals
1 Comment
Consequences of sin have made relationships harder, both with others and God. Sin creates guilt and shame that keeps me from wanting to spend time with God. It constantly whispers that I am unworthy to approach God and that He would not want to hear from me. Thanks for the reminder that these are consequences of sin and that must be fought against.