Flickr Photo by Don
In our last conversation about forgiving ourselves, I think many of you sensed that, if the God who revealed himself in Jesus is our reference point, then the root of forgiving others, and ourselves, is the highest kind of love (i.e. not just feeling, but choosing to actively seek the highest good of another). In that sense God’s love expresses his goodness, as his goodness is seen in his love.
Somewhere along the line, a couple of brief comments were made about the relationship between Adam and Even in bringing sin into the world. Ever wonder whether they had enormous issues with forgiving themselves—especially after Cain killed Abel?
Something else that we’re not told specifically is what Adam was thinking when he joined Eve. The Apostle Paul implies that, while Eve was misled, Adam acted knowingly and willfully (1Tim 2:14).
Lately I’ve been thinking about the relationship between Adam and Christ (Rom 5:12-18), and wondering whether Adam knowingly entered into sin because of his love for Eve. Yes, the question is hypothetical, and the answer could be that while Eve was deceived, Adam was just plain rebellious.
Or could there be a relationship between Adam’s action and several other expressions of love in the Scriptures?
I’m thinking of:
Moses willingness to be wiped out of “the book of life” if God would not forgive the people he loved (Exod 32:32).
David’s wish that he could have died rather than Absalom (2Sam 18:33)
Paul’s wish that he could be separated from Christ if it could bring about the salvation of his people (Rom 9:1-3).
Then there is the Christ, Jesus who didn’t just wish as much, but showed how much he was lovingly willing to pay to enter our sin, to return us to himself, and his Father (2Cor 5:21).
Am wondering whether, together, all of this could be saying something about the love that seems to be at the root of being forgiven, forgiving others, and forgiving ourselves.
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