Thanks a lot, Adam. Way to go. You really shafted the rest of us. I mean, if you hadn't blown it so badly everything would have gone well for us. There would be no war, no problems, no traffic, no disease, no grumpy people, no layoffs, and certainly no Windows crashes. And if it hadn't been for you, the Cubs would probably win a World Series every now and then too.
Oh, and there would be no death. Yeah, thanks for that one, Mud Man. Dust to dust, eh?
Just when I was beginning to enjoy the letter-book of Romans again, the apostle Paul has to remind me of the frustrating aspects to life. "When Adam sinned," Paul reflects, "sin entered the entire human race." Before Adam– to err is human was not true. After Adam– to err is human became much too true. Before Adam, biblically, there was no humanity. After Adam, biblically, is all humanity. Adam messed it up. It's your fault, No Belly-Button Boy!!! Argh!
And the problem is not just that the entire human race now misses the mark… Sin is not the only mess hitting the fan. Our lives hit the fan too… and are shredded by it. "Adam's sin brought death," Paul laments, "and so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned."
No sin = life. Sin = death.
Stink. But I know this is true. I see it in my own life. When I sin, it destroys bits of me and bits of others. There is no victory in sin… only a lingering defeat. But when I do what's right, I catch a glimpse of freedom and joy in myself and others. It's as if doing what God wants for me to do actually opens up life… but doing what goes against God's desires actually tears down life… Life, the breath of God in us. No life = no breath.
You know, Adam, you didn't just "miss the target" (the definition of "sin"), you actually aimed at the wrong target, you dolt!! You weren't even trying to look at the right one!
Thank you so much, Adam. I inherited this direction from you. And now I'm to blame also. Thanks for roping me into this, bro. Guilty by association.
Romans 5:12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.