The
serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God
really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
“Of course we may eat fruit from the
trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of
the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch
it; if you do, you will die.’” “You
won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as
you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its
fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was
with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they
suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover
themselves. Genesis 3:1-7 (NLT)
In the 1998 movie City
of Angels[2]
Nicholas Cage plays Seth, an angel who is fascinated with human beings' ability
to enjoy the sensations of the flesh. He
falls in love with Maggie, a surgeon (played by Meg Ryan). Seth chooses to fall; he chooses
to become a human, giving up his angelic powers, all because of his desire for
Maggie.
After his fall, and only one
day with Maggie, she is killed in a tragic accident. Seth is heartbroken and angry. He experiences the agony of loss, which before,
as an angel, he could simply watch dispassionately. Where once he was merely a spectator, Seth,
the human, with all that mortality brings, finds it is all just too real.
Seth experiences all
of the fall.
Seth's angel friend,
"Cassiel" appears to him to aid Seth in his grief. Cassiel is also curious. He asks, "What is it like, Seth, being
human?" He also asks about Seth's
relationship with Maggie: "Was it
worth it?" "Would you have
done it [fall] if you knew it would end so soon?"
Seth's answer is the whole
point of the movie. He replies, "I
would rather have one breath of her hair, one kiss from her mouth, one touch
from her hand – than an eternity without her."
And it is the fallen angel’s
answer which defines the most troubling aspect of our human nature – that with
which we are both born, and cursed; we desire our sin; it desires us, and we are
powerless to overcome it.
We choose our sin. Given a perfect environment, the absence of
sin and even the influence of wrong, the first Adam chose his sin.
And we have been doing it
ever since!
That is why we must have a
Savior.
Now…if that was the end of
the story you and I would be most miserable.
But the story turns entirely in a Golgotha minute. Christ, crucified, buried, resurrected and
coming again is the real ending.
For sin is the sting that results in death, and
the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through
our Lord Jesus Christ. 1
Corinthians 15:56-57 (NLT)
And that is what turns the
fall on its ear!
For You Today
God
never intended Adam or any of us to live in the defeat and despair we all choose.
But
now we don’t have to; remember your victory is in Christ Jesus; go live it!
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