Today’s reading: Romans 9:19-33; Genesis 2:16-17

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Genesis 2:16-17

Warning signs. We see them everywhere. “Don’t touch, hot surface!”, “Caution, overhead wires”, and one of my favorites, “Caution: Coffee may be hot” (well I hope so!). We’ve even written songs about signs. Remember the song by the Five Man Electrical Band from 1971 eloquently named “Signs”?

Usually a warning sign is put up to protect us from some type of hazard or from ourselves. When we challenge the warning, the consequences can be detrimental to our health and wellbeing.

God gave us a warning sign in the Garden of Eden. He told Adam and Eve that they could eat from any tree they wished except one. If they didn’t listen to Him and chose to disobey, the consequences were indeed dire. We would die! Well you know what happened. Like little children we did exactly what we were told not to do. Death entered the world and consumed us all.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of the story. God provided a way out. He sent His Son to take our place. We who are baptized and believe are washed clean through the gift of Jesus. We need not fear the warning anymore. Death is defeated!

Prayer:

Dear Lord, we praise you for providing your Son when we could not heed your warning. Your mercy and grace are an ever-present comfort.

Contributed by Tom Johnson