Genesis 3:6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

We must take another look at sin.

The Fall has messed everything up. No, that’s an understatement. If it hadn’t happened, we might have been living a wonderful life on the beach, and the poor snake wouldn’t have had such a hard time getting by.

But maybe we shouldn’t point fingers too quickly, because I don’t know if we would’ve done any better. When I look back on my life, I’ve also stepped over the line many times, thinking I would see more, get more and have more power.

We need to recognise and acknowledge this flaw in our lives. We’re not always as great as we think we are. We do the wrong things. Without thinking twice about the implications of our actions, we do things and leave dead bodies in our wake.

But sin doesn’t just mess up our relationships with people. Our relationship with God also gets damaged. God hates sin. He cannot tolerate us doing things that He explicitly tells us in His Word not to do.

That’s why Adam and Eve were chased out of the garden immediately. Everything used to be balanced, but their actions messed it up. They drew a line through their intimate relationship with the Creator.

This is the net effect of sin: it works its way into our relationship with God and steals the very intimacy we long for so much. That is why we must eradicate sin, so that it does not grow like weeds in our lives and push us away from God.

Fortunately, we do not have to torture ourselves about all the wrong things we have done. God loves us so much that He made a plan for our wrong actions. And that is exactly why Jesus died on the cross. Thank goodness for that.

However, let us stop sin from taking over and ruining our relationship with God. Let us live as God wants. Every day!

Prayer
Father, I now put my sins before You one by one. Help me not make that wrong choice again. Thank You for forgiving me and drawing me closer every time …

Questions
How does sin affect your relationship with God and other people?
What “small” sin might be slowly growing like weeds in your life?
How can you practically accept God’s forgiveness today?

Do this now
Recognise your own weak spots where sin easily creeps in, call it by name, and ask for God’s strength to avoid it.
Honestly confess your sin to God today and thank Him that Jesus has already paid the price for it.
Do something good and sincere in an area where you may have acted wrongly in the past. Show that God’s forgiveness brings new life.