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Sometimes we fall into the trap of believing that God’s wrath is greater than His grace. In Genesis 2, we read of God’s unbelievable grace when allowing Adam to roam freely in creation.
And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
Genesis 2:16-17 HCSB
The permission of God was broad and the restriction was narrow. There was actually only one restriction. Man had a knowledge of good, but was ignorant to evil. He didn’t know what disobedience looked like. He didn’t know of pain, suffering, evil, or sickness. What a blessing!
With free will came responsibility. Did Adam really love God? Would he obey Him?
The Good News of the Gospel is part of God’s plan for Salvation. But in that message of Salvation, there is a restoration of what was lost in the garden. Jesus came to show God’s Kingdom and unleash the restorative process between man and God. In other words, we can’t primarily think of Salvation as getting to heaven. That’s part of it, however, Genesis outlines for us the original intention of God’s design. We cannot fully grasp what’s been found unless we realize what was lost.
When I read this chapter, I get a picture of paradise. Adam is given free will to roam God’s creation and enjoy it. This is culminated with God providing Adam with a woman who would join him as one flesh. It was wonderful. The question is, how do we get back there? The answer is, there is no way back outside of Jesus. We should not look at this world and count it as disposable in our quest to reunite with God in Heaven. We were put here as believers to reveal God’s love and purpose to His creation and to help Him restore what’s been lost to sin and death.