Part 1 of this blog
was birthed through many tears and from words God spoke to my spirit early one
morning between slumber and awaking. I have had to pause and weep many
times as I write, for the many dear ones who have locked hands with sin and
cannot see the ever-tightening chains that surround them. Part 2 will be
posted tomorrow.
Genesis 3:8 So when the woman saw that the
tree was good for food, that it
was pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree desirable to make one
wise, she took of its fruit and ate.
Every child who has sat in Sunday School
knows the story of Adam, Eve and the “apple.” They can tell you that God said they were not
supposed to eat of the tree, the serpent told Eve it was ok, she wouldn’t
really die, Eve ate the fruit, gave it to Adam, he ate and they realized they
were naked.
But is that really what happened?
Did Eve accidently pass the tree one day; listen to a snake and think, “Why
not?” I believe there is much
more to the “first sin” scenario then
most of us think. Look at your own
life. Have you ever just accidently or
impulsively sinned? Or did it involve a
process, over time? Was sin allowed to
become your friend?
James 1:1-15 But each one is tempted when he
is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire
has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings
forth death.
In my mind, the first “sin” scenario went something like this. Every day, Eve would stroll through the
garden, tending to it and admiring God’s handiwork. When she came to the tree in the middle of
the garden, Eve would linger, admiring its perfectly formed leaves, its
luscious hanging fruit, and inhaling its enticing aroma. After lingering day
after day, the aroma prompted her mind to imagine how sweet just one bite would
taste and her body began to desire fulfillment.
You will notice she hadn’t touched the forbidden yet, because when the
serpent tried to twist God’s command, Eve told him, “God said we should not even
touch the tree.” Over months of
lingering, desire was conceived and sin was birthed. Sin had become her friend.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as
through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death
spread to all men, because all sinned.
Once
Adam and Eve “opened the door,” sin
entered the world and has affected every person since that time. For the first family, it didn’t take long for
friendship with sin to manifest itself in their children. Genesis 4 speaks of a time when Cain brought
a sacrifice to the Lord but instead of the “blood”
sacrifice required by the Lord, Cain brought the fruit of his own labors; crops
he had tended. We aren’t given much
information as to why Cain refused to bring a blood sacrifice, maybe he didn’t
want to deal with the messiness involved in sacrificing a lamb, perhaps the
crops he had tended grew especially well and with pride he presented what “HE had accomplished” to God or maybe he
just didn’t believe it really mattered as long as he gave God something. We do know, however, that God did not accept
this offering from Cain and Cain allowed anger to consume him. God tells Cain to not be angry but just do
the “right” thing. Then God says something very interesting…
Genesis 4:7 If you do well, will you
not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its
desire is for you, but you
should rule over it.”
God told him, “Sin desires to be your friend, but if you refuse its friendship,
rule over it and offer the sacrifice I desire, I will accept you.” The sad
end to this part of the story is that Sin became Cain’s friend.
I was reminded by a dear friend of the old
saying, “Sin always takes
you further than you ever thought you would go and you end up in places you
never thought you would be.” Sin does not become just a “casual”
friend, content to share a cup of coffee every few years, just to “catch up.”
No, Sin will not be satisfied until it is your ONLY friend, consuming your time, your desires and your will.
Sin
puts on a beautiful façade, luring and enticing until you embrace and take hold
of its hand. Before long you notice that
Sin never leaves your side as you stroll down its wide smooth path. It continues to surround you, until you
become entangled and inseparable; its thoughts become your thoughts; its
desires, your desires; its will, your will…
Sin has become your friend!
Tomorrow-part 2
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