Everything was great in the garden God created for the original pair, Adam and Eve. However, the first “but” in the Bible is when God said, “…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) There is one and only one restriction. The first problem is introduced three verses later: “But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.” In the next chapter (verse 4) the simple word introduces us to what’s going to be a big problem: “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’” Uh oh. No longer could Adam and Eve live without guilt and shame. Their innocence was gone. They didn’t die physically, but death had spiritually entered the world. We are all affected by this. The second Adam, Jesus, came to undo the work of the first human. I love how Paul wrote it: “But the free gift is not like the trespass.” (Romans 5:15) The Bible, from cover to cover is about one thing: redemption. Redemption is buying back something that was lost. In the Bible story that introduces sin, we see God’s heart for redemption: “But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” The Lord is always seeking to save the lost (Luke 19:10).

- Pastor Tom Harrison