Lesson 4: Corruption, Part 2

by Stacia McKeever and Dan Lietha on December 21, 2015

“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (Romans 8:22).

We need to remember that what we see in the world today is only a dim reflection of God’s perfect creation. The corruption that came through Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden changed God’s handiwork completely. The effects of the Curse that God placed on His creation can be seen in various ways throughout our lives.

For instance, have you ever asked yourself why . . .

. . . those we love get sick and die? God warned Adam that if he ate of the forbidden fruit, he would die. Romans 5:12 tells us that Adam’s sin (and our sin through Adam) causes us all to die.

. . . we get pricked by thorns when we try to smell a rose? because of Adam’s disobedience, God cursed the ground, causing thorns and thistles to come from it (Genesis 3:18). Not only is the ground cursed, but Romans 8:22 tells us the whole creation has been affected by the Curse.

. . . we wear clothes? After Adam sinned, he and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves, but man cannot cover sin. God killed an animal and used the skins to clothe Adam and Eve.

. . . our parents have to work hard to provide for us? Genesis 3:19 tells us God’s Curse on man was that he must work hard to feed his family. In many countries, millions of people have to toil endlessly to provide just the basic necessities.

. . . we don’t all live in the Garden of Eden today? Adam and Eve had to leave their home in the Garden so that they would not eat of the Tree of Life and live forever (Genesis 3:23). God did not want them to live forever in sin, separated from Him.

As terrible as things like pain, sickness, and death are, they are not permanent parts of God’s creation. We look forward to the last “C” of history—Consummation—when the Curse will be no more (Revelation 22:3) and those whose names have been written in the Lamb’s book of Life will spend eternity in a perfect place.