IF THE FALL HAD NEVER HAPPENED

 

Have you ever thought about what the Fall meant for mankind? I think it was the saddest day in the history of the world; it was the moment everything changed from what God had intended. The first couple had been deceived by Satan to disobey God; sin had entered into God’s perfect world (see Romans 5:12). Mankind had fallen! What a loss! Life has never been the same since. The descendants of Adam and Eve--everybody who has lived since then (including you and me) -- inherited their sinful nature and the ensuing consequences.

God had spent six days creating everything humans would need to be content and comfortable; at the end of each thing He created, “God saw that it was good” (see Genesis 1:4; 10; 12; 18; 21; 25; 31). Also, on the sixth day, He created Adam and Eve and put them in charge of everything. He even gave them the authority to name things whatever they wanted them called. Life in their world was beautiful and perfect; God always went to visit with them in the evenings; how beautiful! But on one fateful evening, when God went to visit, as usual, they were nowhere to be found. “Where are you?” God called out to Adam (see Genesis 3:9).

Mankind had fallen! Things went downhill rather quickly from that point on. There was disappointment all around—God was disappointed in them, and they were disappointed in themselves. This led to finger-pointing, and a blame game—Adam blamed God for giving him a wife who misled him. Eve blamed the serpent, and obviously, the serpent had no one to blame and had no excuse. God decreed a curse against each one of them, which has passed on to us (see Genesis 3:12-19); we are still working hard to earn a living, marriages still struggle, and women go through much pain to have babies. I know because I’ve been there. The serpent’s curse took a lot longer to happen, but that day finally came; the seed of the woman (Jesus) struck his head at Calvary! Hallelujah!

We will never know what life would have been like If the Fall had never happened. But thank God He did not give up on humans; before creation, He already knew what was going to happen and how He was going to remedy the situation. What a relief!!! He was determined to have a beautiful, lasting relationship with us, even if it killed Him, and it did! He sent His One and only Son, Jesus, into our sin-filled world to live a perfect life and die in our stead. So now, the way back to God is wide open; there is no longer a reason to hide from Him. We only have to repent of our sins, ask for His forgiveness, and trust that our sins are washed away by Jesus’ blood, and that they will never be brought up again: “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). And then He puts His Holy Spirit in us to guide, direct, comfort, and reassure us of His unfailing love: “For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth” (Psalm 103:11).

So, what God planned from the beginning, regardless of the devil’s meddling, has happened—His Spirit lives in us! He has promised to bring us to heaven with Him someday, where we will see Him face-to-face and worship Him day and night. How glorious that will be!

And just like what He did at creation—creating everything man was going to need, He is making preparations for us, and when things are ready, He will come back and take us home, where we’ll get to live with Him forever: “Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:2-3, emphasis mine).   

Because of the fall and its associated consequences, life has been difficult and we struggle, but it won’t be much longer. Let’s take heart: “For the Lord himself will come down with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. … [we] will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with him forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Amen!