I've Got Bad News . . . Really Horrible News . . . But Wait!

Today's Scriptural Truth *

[God said], "And I will put enmity between you & the woman, & between your offspring & hers; He will crush your head, & you will strike His heel." Genesis 3:15

Today's Devotional Thoughts

Do these words sound familiar? They might, because they come from what has to be the most depressing chapter in the Bible. Just moments before, Satan--in the guise of a snake [No, I don't feel like debating the merits of the Harry Potter series . . . at least not now.]--had deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil.

This was the fruit which God had EXPRESSLY forbidden Adam & Even to eat. At least Adam wasn't deceived . . . Uh, check that . . . Eve had HANDED the fruit to Adam . . . handed, mind you . . . not tricked Adam . . . not argued with Adam . . . handed the fruit to Adam . . .  & he apparently ate it w/o question, too.

They were immediately ashamed. They realized they were naked. [Duh.]  They realized they had sinned . . . God confronted them. Things go from bad to worse . . . very bad to very worst.

• Adam blamed Eve.
• Eve blamed the snake. 
• God cursed the snake.
• God cursed humankind.
• God drove Adam & Eve out of the Garden of Eden.
• The entire Creation--which God had recently pronounced "very good"--was subject to the utter despair of darkness, death, separation from God . . . 

Thanks, Adam! Thanks Eve!

But wait! Two important points here.

1. You & I would have done the same thing. God created our great-, great-, great- {ad infinitum} grand-parents with free will, & they din't pass up the devil's temptation--his lie--to eat the fruit & become like God.
2. Genesis 3:15 [Go back & read it again. Please.] is the first Gospel promise in the Bible.

The Enmity that God promises between Satan & the woman or humankind . . . that Enmity, whose heel Satan will reach out & attempt a pre-emptive strike on Golgotha thousands of year later? That would be Jesus, whose death on the cross we observe on Good Friday.

As for Satan? That same Jesus crushed him . . . And sin . . . And death . . . when the Father accepted His sacrificial death on the cross & raised Him from the dead on the first Easter Sunday.

As a life-long Lutheran * would say:  This is most  certainly true.
* That's me. **
** Don't feel bad if you're not a life-long Lutheran . . . You would or should say this, too.

Today's Prayer Thought

Say a prayer of thanksgiving for the miracle of God's grace & redemption through Jesus' redemption of humankind--greater than any power Satan has over us.

Addendum

This devotion was adapted from one I wrote for the Lutheran High Northeast Daily Announcements on 4/27/15. Our chapel theme in 2014-15 was "Walking in the Truth."

* Once again, if you are reading this devotional from a link on the Norfolk Daily News web site, you are more than likely NOT getting any special fonts, colors, bullets, links, etc., for reasons I can't explain. I talked to someone from the NDN on TUE 5/17 . . . maybe a solution has been found. ** If you read the devotional from a link on my Facebook account, you get all the features . . . & I use that word sparingly.

** And, PLEASE, don't read this as a criticism of my favorite, hometown newspaper, which I subscribe to & faithfully read every day. ***

*** And for which I receive no remuneration. I'm just sayin'.