Bequests From Adam and Eve, Our “Uncommon Ancestors"
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened. Genesis 3:6-7
What do Sickle Cell Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, and Huntington’s disease have in common? They are life-threatening illnesses that are passed on from parent to child. That’s a tragic kind of inheritance, but there is one that is far worse that is found in each of us. The sinful nature in our hearts has been passed down from generation to generation, beginning with our uncommon ancestors, Adam and Eve.
Our first parents gave in to the devil’s temptation to become “like God” by eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They began a spiral toward physical and eternal death. David confessed in Psalm 51:5 that he, too, was cursed with this inheritance: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” Jesus summed it up when He said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” (John 3:6)
This deadly cycle of inherited sin could only be interrupted by the miracle of the ages, when a virgin mother gave birth to God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. The only fully innocent one then offered Himself as a sacrifice for all sinners when He went to the cross. In this way Christ atoned for the deadly inheritance that began with our first parents, as well as for the many sins we’ve added. “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)
As by one man all mankind fell,
And, born in sin, was doomed to hell,
So by one Man, who took our place,
We all received the gift of grace.
We thank Thee, Christ; new life is ours,
New light, new hope, new strength, new powers:
This grace our every way attend,
Until we reach our journey's end!
The Lutheran Hymnal 369:5,6