The Lord, God said - "Behold, the man has become like one of Us "

“Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever. Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden”— Genesis 3:2

We were created to live forever...spiritually and physically.

This was a perfectly fine plan as long a man lived in a state of innocence and obedience with God. It is not beneficial for a person who has fallen from grace and his being is ravaged by the fatal decaying influence of sin. As it was, Adam lived, on earth, 930 years. In today's world that seems like an eternity. That would equate to me being born around the time William the Conqueror subdued England in 1066. Its an intriguing thought but, these old bones are pretty tired at the age of seventy. The arc of vitality in life seem to rise until about the age of fifty. Then, it slowly begins to bend downward...and that downward arc gets steeper and steeper until it seems we discover a new ache or pain nearly every day. Nine hundred more years might be too much of a good thing! In fact, I've counseled with countless aged patients at the V.A., hospital whose only wish is to die. They've already had "too much of a good thing!"

So...Yahweh drove them from the garden so they wouldn't live forever. Actually, an act of mercy.

The consequence of this judgment is that we all actually die twice but, most people are not wise enough to discern it. Adam died spiritually when he was ate the fruit. He was separated from God by his sin. That death had eternal consequences. Adam also died physically 900 years later when he was separated from his physical body. As a result, you and I, as Adam's children were born spiritually dead (separated from God) with terminal case of Asham (אָשָׁם: guilt). 

We also begin to physically die from the moment of birth. And, that death is the moment of truth for all of us. If we have not made peace with God before we physically die...the opportunity has forever escaped us and we spend eternity separated from the loving God who created us.

Think about it this way: God could have destroyed Adam and Eve at the moment they ate the fruit in the garden because they disobeyed. He could have started over with another couple who might have done better. Instead, in His mercy, he gave them time to repent and turn back to God. I believe this is because, when that sin happened, Adam and Eve were still very innocent and naïve to the world. God wanted to offer them an opportunity to recognize the error of their ways and return to Him. When I say you and I are born spiritually dead...infected by the flawed spiritual DNA of Adam, I also say God has given us a number of years on this earth to recognize our condition and return to Him.

But...there is a cost. No "get out of jail free" card.

This is our primary task on earth: Find our way back to Yahweh, If we fail in this, we fail to spend the rest of eternity with Him. It's a mission we have no choice but to accept. And, the road back to God is paved with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. He paid the price for our sin (Romans 6:23). When we look at it this way, Christ on the cross is not an ego driven demand to submit. Christ on the cross is a lifeline offered to every one of us even though we didn't ask for it and we don't deserve it.

Live boldly out there today...