In the Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. Genesis 3:15

What better place to start than the beginning? God made a perfect earth. He made the land and water, plants and animals, and the sun, moon and stars. Then God finished it off with His finest works of all – man and woman, made in His own image. Perfect people living in a perfect place. They could do anything they wanted to, except for one thing. God specifically told them not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Doesn’t sound too hard, does it?

But Adam and Eve blew it. And their world couldn’t be perfect anymore. When they heard God coming, they hid because they were ashamed of themselves.

Would we have done the same thing if we had been Adam and Eve? Likely. God offers us many choices, and we often make bad ones. Every person since Adam and Eve has been born in sin, separated from God.

But even as God punished Adam and Eve for their disobedience, He made a promise. An offspring would be born of the woman. Satan would strike at His heel (crucify Him), but He would crush Satan’s head (through His resurrection).

That person is Jesus Christ. God sent Him to earth to bear the punishment for our sins so that we could once again have communion with God and eternal life in Heaven. What a reason to celebrate!