Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Romans 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
IT ONLY TAKES ONE
It often takes thousands of people to construct one of those magnificent buildings that pierce the skylines great cities. There must be architects who plan, bankers who finance, marketers who promote, and laborers who build. So much man-power and effort is involved, and yet it only takes *one* to burn the whole thing to the ground.
Likewise it only took one person to plunge the whole world into darkness and sin. At first, the world was beautiful, pristine, and perfect. There was no evil to blemish what God had created. Then Adam disobeyed God and all was ruined. Eve held out the forbidden fruit and he did eat. From that moment on nothing was the same. As if putting a dark blotch of ink on a new white tablecloth, the earth was now imperfect and stained. No longer would things work quite right. Animals and people would wear out and eventually stop breathing. There would be hardship, toil, and struggle. Furthermore, Adam's descendants would also be marked with imperfection. Abilities like intellect and creativity would be dimmed, and people would be born sinful and corrupt rather than holy and righteous. From their very conception they would be inclined to work against God rather than with Him. Paul wrote: "Through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners." You and I are sinners too.
But that's not the end of the story. As Adam gave corruption, sin, and death to the children of earth, Jesus Christ gave perfection, righteousness, and life to all. He lives according to the commandments and then says, "I lived this life in place of mankind." He accepts the punishment for all sin at the cross and then says, "This I endured for the entire human race." Now the Father looks down from heaven and sees the holy Law kept and no outstanding debt on the world's books. With sin taken care of by Christ, the earth can go back to the way it once was -- and it will.
It took only one man to ruin the world, but more importantly it took only one man to set things right again and give the inhabitants of this planet plenty of reason to look forward to the joys at the end of time. 