Solving the Problem

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” - Genesis 3:6

Can you imagine a perfect world? Can you imagine perfect people? Imagine if you didn’t know anything about crime, murder, rape, terrorism, lust, bitterness, anger, anxiety, credit card debt, sickness, hurricanes, or tsunamis. The word “Eden” literally means, “delight.” And the first two people ever created lived in this land of delight – The Garden of Eden. They were perfect people living in a perfect world and had a perfect relationship with God, who literally walked among them on the earth. But that was then and this is now.

So how did it all go wrong? It began with two seeds being sown into the mind of Eve – the seeds of doubt and distrust. Can you really trust God’s Word? Is God trying to keep you from knowledge? Satan planted these seeds in Eve’s mind…and that was the beginning of sin. What happened next is the tragedy that has put the world into the mess that it is in today. It is what the Bible calls, “sin.” Sin is simply disbelieving the Word of God and disobeying the will of God.

Immediately after disobeying God’s command, Adam and Eve felt separation. They knew their relationship with God had been damaged and needed repair. Through sorrow they realized things would never be the same. Can you imagine the devastation, remorse and guilt they must have felt? From that moment until now, everything has been infected by sin. Roses now have thorns. Cities need policemen. Airports now need metal detectors. The world needs cemeteries to bury the dead.

We’ve all been infected and we are all carriers of this disease called, “sin.” There is a hole in the soul of humanity that can only be filled by what that little baby born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago can bring. Christmas tells us that what is happening on the outside of our world can only be solved by treating what is wrong with the inside of this world. The problem is sin. And the reason Christ was born was not to treat the symptoms, but to solve the problem of our sin.

Father, Thank You for forgiving me of my sins. This Christmas, help me to remember that my forgiveness began at Christmas, not at Easter.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.