The rippling effect of brokenness and sin and the redeeming power of God, Genesis 3 & Genesis 6:5-7:24

This morning as I looked out upon the pond in my backyard, I noticed how still the water was. By mid-morning the wind has usually kicked up and created waves, but often in the morning the surface of the water is like glass. As I looked out upon the water what I believe to be a fish came up from under the surface and created a little splash. Ripple in the water moved quickly from the spot of the disturbance and soon the whole area of the pound was moving. What once was as smooth as glass was riddled with ripples.

In our readings yesterday which Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden we see the ripple effect of Sin on God’s beloved created. So much so that by the time we get to Noah in Genesis Chapter six we read that, “Every Inclination of his (man) heart was only evil, all the time.” The result being God’s plan to destroy all living things. Not just people, but all living things because His heart had become ‘grieved’ by what he had made.

The truth of sin is that it has repercussions. Often these repercussions harm ‘innocent’ people whom we never intended to harm. We may believe that sin is personal and no one’s business but our own, but no matter how much we try to deny it sin hurts others around us. It has repercussions. Bad things happen to good people because of us.

The deepest tragedy of sin is brokenness. Brokenness of relationships, brokenness of people, brokenness of dreams and vision, a brokenness of God’s creation.

The Good news though is that God has provided a way to heal us of this brokenness and even more importantly a way to heal us of our sin. It all has to do with the child of the woman in chapter two who will crush the serpent. Jesus is the answer to sin. We will see later in the story of Noah that wiping creation out is not the right solution. Sin will always be present. The answer is Jesus. The answer is trusting in the power of Eve’s offspring to crush sin and Satan under his foot. The answer is forming a relationship with God through Jesus and allowing this relationship form all our other relationships and form ourselves.

Thank you Jesus for the work of the cross to overcome sin and death; which are the wages of sin. May we ever vigilant in knowing the repercussions of our sins, ever trustful in the work of Jesus Christ to return us and all creation toward a right relationship with God, and ever joyful in God’s healing power in our lives and in this world. Amen.