I was bitten on the back of my leg by a horsefly during a workout at my gym. Luckily, my partner that morning smashed it like she was trying out to be the heroine in my life movie.
It was less that 30 seconds from the nip of the angry sky raisin to his untimely death via Angie’s shoe. However, his actions impacted my life for days afterwards. The bite area became red and swollen. My pants rubbed uncomfortably on the spot. The bite mark alternated between itching and burning. I woke myself up in the middle of the night scratching.
In short, it was a nagging reminder for days that I’d been bitten by an insect.
Sin is like that in our lives. A few seconds or moments, which impact several days, weeks, months or even years of our lives. Sin is like the bite of an insect, which seems small initially until you truly feel the ripple effects.
The first bite of sin happened in the Garden of Eden when Eve was enticed by the devil to eating fruit from the forbidden tree. Genesis tells us that Eve eats first and then Adam follows suit. For years many have ‘blamed’ Eve for bringing sin into the world, myself included. However, it should also be acknowledged that Adam committed sin too. He knowingly committed the sin and was punished alongside of Eve in Genesis 3.
While Genesis 3 shows Eve committing the first sin, Romans 5 states that Adam caused sin to enter the world. And as sin came through one man, Adam, it is also through the death of one man, Jesus Christ that the gift of salvation is offered to sinners. It’s also interesting to note that while Eve was the first to enter into sinful behaviors, the solution to sin came through her seed (Genesis 3:15) with the birth, life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Scripture is clear that sin and death entered the world through Adam, while Eve is the first recorded to commit an overt act of sin with the bite of fruit from the forbidden tree.
One bite.
Which became a problem for all of mankind.
Just like one horsefly bite has become a problem for me.
~Emily
Iron Porch 