By David ReayFriday 9 Mar 2018LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
Read Romans 5:18-19
18-19 Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right. (THE MESSAGE)
Our human destiny has been shaped and reshaped in two gardens. In the Garden of Eden, Adam (and Eve) decided to go their own way independently of God. They reckoned they knew best. As a result, God became a stranger, the world became a real or at least potential enemy; relationships with others became poisoned.
In another garden, Gethsemane, Jesus decided to go God’s way. He concluded God knew best even if it cost him his life. He obeyed God. As a result, the door was opened to renewed friendship with God, right standing with God. The door was open to a new relationship with creation and with others.
Each of us is by birth, by nature, somehow connected to Adam and all that he did wrong. It is what some call ‘original sin’. However, each of us can become by rebirth somehow connected to Jesus and all that he did right. Our connection with Adam means we and our world are not as we were made to be. Our connection with Jesus means there is hope of putting that right.
The way back to that perfect Garden of Eden passes through that dark yet enigmatically hopeful Garden of Gethsemane.
Blessings
David Reay