The Bible begins by stating that, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). As you may already know, things go downhill quite quickly after that.
After God created day and night, land and sea, plants and animals, Adam and Eve, things were good. Adam and Eve lived in the garden for an unspecified period, and God walked with them as a friend. God told them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but Satan convinced Eve that she did not need to follow that command. Then she convinced Adam (Genesis 1-3:7).
When God came to meet them that day, they were afraid and hid from him. Eventually, they confessed to what they had done, which caused God to impose a series of curses or consequences on them. Eve would have increased pain in childbirth, and her relationship with Adam was going to change (Genesis 3:16). Adam would need to work hard for his food, and, since he was created from the dust, to the dust he would return (the first mention of death in the Bible – verses 17-19). Worst of all, sin changed their relationship with God, so that He could not dwell with them any longer, and they were expelled from the garden (verse 23). Today, our own sin continues to separate us from God (Romans 3:23).
In an effort to restore the relationship, God’s people tried to follow his law and offered sacrifices, but that did not fix anything. At best, it merely delayed the punishment.
Then Jesus entered the picture and changed everything. “Christ redeemed us… by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Did you see that? He took the curse (or consequence) of our sin for us so that we could be redeemed, or bought back. I called this article “Reverse the Curse”, but that is not quite right. Jesus did not reverse the curse, or even nullify it. He became the curse. On the cross, he took the curse so that we would no longer be in its debt.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
That is good news!
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