“For
the creation
was
subjected to
futility,
not
willingly,
but because
of Him who
subjected
it, in hope
that the
creation
itself also
will be set
free from
its slavery
to
corruption
into the
freedom of
the glory of
the children
of God. For
we know that
the whole
creation
groans and
suffers the
pains of
childbirth
together
until now.”
Romans
8:20-22
There were
two
significant
trees in the
Garden of
Eden, the
Tree of Life
and the Tree
of the
Knowledge of
Good and
Evil. Notice
that the
forbidden
tree was not
the “Tree of
Evil” but of
the
“Knowledge
of Good and
Evil. When
the first
humans
walked past
the Tree of
Life and
partook of
the
forbidden
tree, they
were saying
to God that
they wanted
to know both
good and
evil and
that they
would make
their own
choices from
here on out.
As a result
we live in a
world that
is a
composite of
good and
evil and the
evidence of
that fact is
everywhere.
There is
life and
death, joy
and sorrow,
love and
hate,
blessings
and curses.
There is
giving and
sharing and
there is
seizing and
robbery. In
this fallen
world it
seems that
every rose
has it’s
thorn, and a
thorn’s job
is to
inflict
pain.
In a fallen
world pain
let’s us
know
something is
wrong. Pain
is an
effective
motivator to
isolate the
wrong and to
seek a
solution to
it. So,
where there
is pain
there is
hope.
There are a
few children
who are born
with no
ability to
feel pain.
At first
thought this
might seem
like a
wonderful
blessing,
but that is
very far
from the
case in a
fallen
world.
Children who
cannot feel
pain inflict
terrible
damage to
their
bodies. By
the time
they reach
school age
most have
mangled
deformities
because of
broken
bones, cuts
and burns.
They don’t
know when
they break a
bone, cut
themselves
or even when
they are
standing too
close to a
fire.
Because they
do not
experience
pain they
are
sometimes
very rough
with others,
sometimes
causing
injury to
another
child or to
one of their
parents.
Parents who
live with
children in
this
condition
see it as
more of a
curse than a
blessing.
The damage
inflicted to
the body is
the same
whether the
pain is felt
or not.
Experiencing
pain in a
fallen world
means that
you are
alive. It is
the dead who
feel no
pain. As
long as
there is
suffering
and pain in
the world
there is
motivation
to seek God.
When God
sees that a
person has
made his
final
decision to
follow sin
and death
rather than
to repent,
obey and
live, He
sends them a
spirit of
delusion in
order that
they would
believe the
lie that
they are
safe from
God’s wrath.
You might
ask why God
would do
such a thing
- the answer
is that He
wants to
take away
their pain.
There is
always inner
turmoil
taking place
inside the
heart and
mind of a
person who
wants to
feel free to
sin. This
simply means
that they do
not want to
feel the
pain of
conviction
when they
disobey God.
When God
loses hope
that a
person will
repent, He
lets go and
allows them
to believe
the lie they
have chosen
to practice
and they at
last can sin
without
feeling the
pain of
conviction.
Where there
is pain,
there is
still hope.
