A Thought Lesson

Christians are to be responsible for their actions. When we do something wrong that hurts someone, or we break the rules that our parents and teachers have given us, then we have to be punished. Punishment is not something that we enjoy, but it is important to teach us that doing the right thing is always best. Adam and Eve learned this tough lesson when they made their choice to disobey God.

God loved Adam and Eve dearly, but because of their sinful actions, He had to punish them. First, Adam and Eve were driven out of the beautiful Garden of Eden, and never allowed to return. The Lord even placed cherubim (winged angelic beings) and a flaming sword on the east side of the garden to guard the way to the tree of life. Second, they would have to work hard for their food. When God originally placed Adam and Eve in the garden, He told them that their job was to "tend" and "keep" the garden. To watch over the garden was their first job, but after leaving the garden, God told Adam that he would have to "toil" (work harder) for his food. The ground outside the garden where he would plant his crops would produce, not only the desired crop, but also weeds and thorns. God also told Eve that He would increase her sorrow and pain. Specifically, she would suffer even more severe pain during childbirth.

The last and hardest consequence that Adam and Eve suffered was that they were now dying. Phyically, they would have to suffer the effects of aging, and their death some day would now be certain. Spiritually, they were also injured. When they sinned and separated themselves from God, they lost the closest relationship in their lives. They had an extremely close relationship to God, and even walked with Him in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8). However, now their relationship with God had changed forever. They still loved God, and He still loved them, but things were different.

Today, actions such as getting drunk, cussing, lying, or even having evil thoughts will separate us from God because "God is light and in Him is no darkness" (1 John 1:5). Even though our sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2), Christ became the sacrifice for our sins. He gives us the opportunity to draw close to God,even after we have sinned (1 Peter 3:18). If we resist temptation and draw closer to God, then He will also draw closer to us (James 4:8), and that is comforting.

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