When Adam and Eve made that fatal choice to rebel against God and define good and evil on their terms, I imagine that they couldn’t have imagined how the world would be forever changed. Broken was their relationship with God. Broken was their relationship with the earth. Broken was their relationship with each other.
The Fall. It’s a concept that many Christians reading this might be familiar with. We feel that something isn’t right with this world. Perfection is a far off notion. And it is all because of the original Fall of Mankind through Adam and Eve. If you aren’t familiar with this teaching from the Bible, check our Romans 5. Feel free to contact me afterwards. I’d love to chat with you.
But rather than an intellectual look at the concept of the Fall, I instead wanted to write a lament of sorts. I, like many others, can feel that the world is broken. It’s crazy that among so much of the progress that our society has made, we still haven’t found a way to deal with the real problem of the world: the human heart.
Sure, in the western world we may not be killing each other quite as often as we have in centuries past, but we’re still as broken. Setting aside the real persecution and problems from countries less fortunate than us (and some that are as fortunate as us economically), I see the effects of the fall every day.
I see the effects of the Fall in our government. Politicians are often egotistical, insecure scoundrels who lie. Both parties. And that isn’t news to anyone. It’s something to be expected. Trust for our elected officials are at an all time low. Those with a moral responsibility of governing with integrity only do so if it promotes their re-election.
I see the effects of the Fall in our nation’s culture. We’re selfish. Our need for the freedom to express ourselves trumps any sense of right and wrong. In fact, right and wrong are defined individually with a sense of relativism. We make that choice for the forbidden fruit of the garden over and over again. Yet that sense of relativism only sits when it serves me. When it doesn’t, my opponent is a bigot or an uneducated simpleton or snowflake.
I see the effects of the Fall in my neighbors… in my friends and family. Tensions rise in dramatic fashions as we are often unable to see the image of God in those closest to us. We’re comfortable with taking our loved ones for granted. We’re comfortable with arguing and yelling. We’re too busy to go to church. We don’t have the time to love our neighbors. We’re selfish to our core and we can’t love those closest to us.
I see the effects of the Fall in myself. I’m not the man that God ultimately wants me to be. I struggle with sin daily. I prone to impatience, to laziness, and to pride. I make rash decisions, cut corners, and get humbled time and time again. And through it all, I long for something better. But I don’t measure up to my own standards.
But God, being rich in mercy, was not idle. No, he sent his Son to deal with the Fall. He sent his Son to crush the serpent’s head. His Son was our second Adam, the one who was tempted and overcame. And just as sin and death came to all mankind through the Fall of one man, so too would grace and new life come to those who believe in the Rising of the Son of God. And one day, everything will be made new.
No longer will I have to lament the Fall through the government. No, we will have an Almighty and Holy King. There will be no need for the sun because the Lord himself will be the light for his people. And will we serve him with glad hearts. Of his Kingdom, there will be no end.
No longer will I have to lament the Fall through the culture. No, we will find true freedom through the joy that comes from our King. We will love one another collectively. Right and wrong will be recognized on God’s terms and we will always choose right. Sin will have no more power over our culture. We will look to the Everlasting God, the Holy One.
No longer will I have to lament the Fall through my neighbors, friends, and family. There will be no more arguments over things that don’t matter. We’ll love each other. And in the many rooms of our Father’s house, we’ll know our neighbors. We’ll care for them. We’ll run to the presence of the King, putting him always first as we worship him in spirit and in truth.
No longer will I have to lament the Fall through myself. No, I will finally be the man that God wants me to be. Sin will be utterly destroyed in my heart. I will love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I’ll love my neighbor as myself. There will be no more struggle. No, there will just be love upon love.
There will be no more tears. There will be no more sweat. There will be no more lies. There will be no more broken hearts. And the faint echoes of beauty that we see in this world will be nothing compared to the everlasting glory of our God. We will finally have peace. We will have the fullness of love.
So if you feel the world is broken, take heart. Christ has overcome the world. And he’s coming to make all things new.
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