Have you ever made a decision or choice that you wish you could take back, because it had far reaching consequences that you didn’t expect?

We have probably heard the story about Adam and Eve, and how God told Adam that he could eat from all the trees of the garden, but he must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was God’s first rule. Then when Eve was wandering around in the garden, she met the serpent and he told her that she would be as smart as God, if she ate the apple from that “specifically forbidden” tree. She did eat and offered it to Adam so he would be as smart as God too. He ate, and so by ignoring God’s warning, sin and death came into the world. Because of their one bad choice, we have all been condemned to make self centered choices for all eternity.

It really doesn’t seem fair, after all they just made one little tiny mistake, but from God’s perspective, not only did they break His one and only rule, they wanted to be their own god, making their own decisions. Being the only humans in the world at the time, they represented all of humanity, just the two of them. And, since we are all descended from them, we are all susceptible to the same self centered choices.

There is a verse in the Bible that describes the problem and the solution pretty clearly.

Romans 5:18-21 “Therefore, as one bad choice led to the condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to forgiveness and life for all men. For by the one man’s disobedience, many were made sinners, and by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

The one who made the mistake of course, was Adam, and the one who completed the act of righteousness was Jesus Christ. Adam’s one self centered choice led to all mankind being separated from God for thousands of years. The Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus gives all of mankind access to the Grace of God that is able to remove our self-centered nature and give us a restored relationship with Him.

The Bible says Jesus is able to remove our sin so that it is as far from God as the East is from the West. And the amazing thing is that you don’t have to do anything to earn it, it is a free gift, all we have to do is accept it. For some of us that is a very hard choice, our pride gets in the way, but it is the only way God has provided. Have you accepted God’s free gift? If not, will you accept His gift today? I for one have accepted God’s gift, and when I eat an apple, it reminds me that I am free from the penalty of sin. How about you?