A Good Day to Die

When God told Adam that he would “surely die” after he ate from the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”, I wonder if Adam knew the extent, or the weight of what God was telling him. Did Adam underestimate the would-be consequences of sin, or did he overestimate his ability to find loopholes through which he could spin webs of defense?

We may never know the thoughts that were coursing through Adam’s mind that fateful day as he considered his wife’s words that seemed too good to be true. What we do know is that Adam disobeyed God, and the consequences of his actions came knocking: a death that corrupted his spirit- separating him from God; a death that crept through his body, from cell to cell, turning on genes that began to countdown on man’s days on Earth.

The Bible says that Adam gave birth to children after his own image and likeness (Genesis 5:3): meaning that everyone that came after him inherited that spiritual separation and physical mortality. But God in His mercy made provisions to save us from the finality of death and eternal separation from God after death.

Becoming born again made it possible to worship God in spirit and in truth again. It made it possible for us to have a relationship with Him now, as we would have with Him when we eventually see face to face.

Except there’s one little snag that tends to keep on spoiling things: that propensity to give in to sin or do things in a way that seems best to us (like Adam).

Thankfully, there’s a solution for this: death. Wait! Let me explain. Actually, let Jesus explain.

“…if anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

(Luke 9:23, NET)

A cross is a symbol of death. It’s also a symbol of Christ’s submission to God’s will for Him. Jesus says that, to have a relationship with God that goes smoothly, those desires and wants of the fallen nature must remain crucified on a daily basis. They must die and remain dead. If not, we’ll be opening the door for death to come creeping in into our walk with God (James 1:16).

As far as the flesh is concerned, it’s always a good day to die. We achieve this by remaining submitted to God’s will and not yielding to those temptations, no matter how tasty or beneficial they may seem. Grace is available (Titus 2:12).