So what exactly happened to us the moment Eve bit into that forbidden fruit?
Some may think I'm crazy, and they could be right, but I believe the changes that took place from what we were upon initial creation and what the sin poison in the fruit did to us were drastic beyond imagining fully.
Using said imagination many have written stories which have fantasy/horror creatures stemming from an initial good source and are turned into some evil, unrecognizable creature. I believe that is us. I do. I believe we are unrecognizable beyond the very basics as to what we were intended to be. The change that is going to take place in us upon receiving immortality is going to be so magnificent we just have to use our imagination to think about it.
Every single flaw, every single function of our bodies that contains anything we need to bury, hide, wipe away, wish were less inconvenient and messy, all those functions and flaws will be gone as instantaneously as they were initiated in us as the poison touched the lips of Eve, and then Adam.
It's safe to say that just as we were physically altered, we were mentally and emotionally altered as well.
The light in us was snuffed out, and in its place darkness became a very real thing. The door to darkness was fully open and the very first child born to mankind was born into that darkness. The very first child was a child void of selflessness. Cain had within himself a dark seed that was watered and encouraged to grow by Satan (You don't really think Satan stopped His work after He won the prize of introducing mankind to the dark side, do you?) Oh yeah, I went there, I made a Star Wars reference and why not, the fight against good and evil is REAL. Fictionalize it all you want, in whatever way you choose, it won't keep it from being a reality.
Imagine the evil joy of Satan as he watched Cain grow and begin to act in self-serving ways. When Cain offered a sacrifice to God-- the God His parents had known personally- face to face, the God His parents lamented their disobedience towards, when his sacrifice was offered it was rejected…WHY?
Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect..
We do know this-
Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain
Two offerings, each from the occupation taken on by the giver. One a worker of the fields- brings field items, the other a worker of sheep brings a sheep offering. One of these offerings was accepted, the other wasn't and the reason we are told is-- BY FAITH one offering was given and one was not.
Two people come before a king, president, ruler of whatever sort and bring offerings from their native countries. One comes before the ruler with good intentions the other does not. Outwardly they both appear to be giving acceptable tributes, but this ruler sees beyond their outward actions and into their minds and hearts.
Abel offered his offering to God through faith- through belief in the Kingdom of Heaven, through belief in the truth that God would one day restore human kind to belong to Him once more, that God would destroy all the evil. You see, Adam and Eve had been told there would come a Savior, one who would destroy evil's originator. Adam and Eve explained all this to their sons- their creation by God, their disobedience to God and the result of that disobedience. They explained how they lived in a garden of beauty, clothed in the light of God's righteousness, how they ate of the fruit from the tree of life and then how it was all taken from them because of their own disobedience. They explained God's forgiveness, God's goodness, God's authority, to their children. They taught them to worship God, to make offerings to God through faith- the belief in God to ultimately save them through the love He has towards them.
So when Cain made his offering from the fruits of his harvest, he did not make it with that faith which had been taught to him existed. His sacrifice was being done out of duty but not from the heart and God knew this, just as Cain knew this. Cain wanted God to accept what he brought to Him, but the contrite spirit, the heart broken by comprehension of sin's great separation between God and man was not in Cain. Abel's sacrifice was brought with faith- with that comprehension of the need for restoration between God and man.
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
God asked Cain why he was upset, because Cain knew that how he made his offering wasn't how God wanted it to be. God wanted Cain to have faith just as Abel had faith. God told Cain if (obviously in the future) he would do well he would be accepted. However, if he chose not to nurture within Him the truth taught to him by his parents about having faith in God, then he was going down a very wrong path to sin and he would in truth exercise sin towards Abel. He would seek to dominate Abel because of his jealousy towards Abel's favor with God. God spells it out, tells Cain that he has a choice to make that it's not already made, but Cain will have to choose doing well or falling into sin. Cain wasn't lost to God at this point, he had a chance to repent- we know he didn't choose to repent.
Here we have two children one choosing faith the other choosing self. The flaws were there and each one chose to react to their flawed selves in a different way.
TODAY we all have the same choice to make. We can embrace the flaws in our nature and use them or we can rebel against the flaws in our nature and choose not to indulge them. Every day we make these choices.
I read something recently that I found very interesting…
Bethel Baptist Church of Wister, Ok- Facebook Page- August 16, 2019
"The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. These attributes are supernatural. Our human nature doesn't naturally possess these qualities.
As we follow Jesus, they’ll begin to show up in our lives. For instance, we’ll start loving people more, have greater patience with people, and show kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control in every area. When we mature in these areas, that’s a good indicator that we’re growing in our faith. This can also serve as a warning when we are lacking in any of these attributes, reminding us to repent and return to Jesus. We need his help to produce the fruits of His Spirit in our lives."
Selfless love- joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control all these and more are not things that are naturally within us. This isn't to say we don't have bits of them in us, but they can be readily rooted out when we choose self-serving and we can choose this from a very young age.
When we choose faith- just as Abel chose faith- to believe in God and His plan for mankind, we choose to serve God and others before ourselves and the result of that choosing will produce the fruits of the Spirit because the Spirit will give us this fruit. The stony heart in us will be replaced with a heart of flesh.
Eze_11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh
Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Joh 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
We need this faith and we need to choose this faith and choose it constantly over and over and over again.
The choice is ours.
God help us believe, help our faith, heal any unbelief and faithlessness that may be in us!
All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever!!!!!!!
Amen!!!!!!!
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