The Ancient Word...

When God first created man and woman, He gave them free access to the "tree of life" so they could live forever (Genesis 2:8-9, 16, NIV). However, after Adam and Eve sinned, God decided that He would not sustain human life indefinitely in this rebellious state. He barred access to the tree of life, so that Adam, Eve, and their descendants eventually died (Genesis 3:22-24).

At the same time, the Lord imposed additional penalties for sin. For example, He condemned women to pain in childbearing. And He cursed the ground so that it tends to produce "thorns and thistles," rather than the food we need. From that time forward, human beings would engage in "painful toil" in order to survive (Genesis 3:16-19).

Much of the suffering we endure results from being born into this fallen world. Creation itself fights against us and, in the end, death claims all.

Everything decays, so that progress is short-lived. It all seems so futile, such an utter waste of time. As Solomon says,

When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun...Man's fate is like that of the animals...As one dies, so dies the other. (Ecclesiastes 2:11; 3:19)

The good news is that God's grace, rather than death and decay, will have the final word. The Apostle Paul declares:

...sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin...Just as the result of [Adam's] one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of [Jesus Christ's] one act of righteousness [on the cross] was justification that brings life for all men. (Romans 5:12, 18)

The Creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the One who subjected it in hope that the Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom [from decay] of the [resurrected] children of God. (Romans 8:19-23)

... for Today

The fallenness of our world helps explain why wood rots and paint peels from our houses, why streets crumble and our cars rust, why dandelions grow where we plant roses, why children suffer birth defects and teens struggle with cancer, why eyesight fades and bones turn brittle as we grow older and more feeble.

We're not to blame for the aging process, but we can't escape it.

Scientists call it the "Law of Entropy" -- the tendency of systems to grow more disordered over time. Have you ever seen your child's room clean itself? Have you ever seen food that never perishes?

But the Bible has another word for it -- not "entropy," but "sin." Adam and Eve's decision to defy God produced a distance from the Giver of Life that opened the door to death and decay -- to suffering.

Such suffering does constitute punishment for human sin, but not necessarily for the sins of the individual sufferer. The death of an innocent baby may come not as God's judgment on its own parents, but rather as a consequence of the first parents.

This "reason" for suffering does nothing to alleviate our pain. It hardly soothes the soul to know that "stuff happens." However, it does clarify that such suffering was not God's original plan and was never His desire for Creation.

While we may complain bitterly at the seeming injustice of suffering for the sin of the primeval pair, we might recall that God's grace abounds. Despite their rebellion, they lived for a time, raised a family, enjoyed God's blessings, and sometimes had reason to smile. So do we.

Despite the specter of suffering, we have the assurance of God's Presence. He shares our suffering. And He too cherishes the sure "hope that Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay."

Discuss...

1. How has the fallen world produced pain or suffering for you?
   
2. Describe some steps you might take to better cope with the world's fallenness.

Chris Davis, PhD & David Timms, PhD
Hope International University
Fullerton, California

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