The Fall

Recently I have been reading Tullian Tchividjian’s book entitled; Unfashionable. In this book he eloquently describes how living the Christian life can be counterintuitive, countercultural; in fact it can truly be “unfashionable”.

There is a point in the book where Tullian (I hope he doesn’t mind me calling him that) discusses the fall. He points out Romans 8:20a which tells us;

For the creation was subjected to frustration


He is pointing out that because of the fall the entirety of creation has been upset. As beautiful as things can seem; there is still this level of frustration in creation. He quotes Vern Poythress who says;

“As a result of the Fall human beings who have descended from Adam suffer sin and death, and end up hurting one another in the sin and misery. But the curse that God pronounces because of Adam’s fall also results in alterations in the broader created order. One thinks of mosquitoes, tapeworms, rabies, all the carriers of diseases so debilitating to human beings. Who can guess all the ways in which the created order may have been put out of joint as a result of the Fall?”

Out of joint – doesn’t that just describe how life can feel sometimes? He further quotes Michael Wittmer who describes it;

“Life a stone tossed in a pond, the corrosive curse of sin rippled out to destroy the entire world: human society, the animal kingdom, and even the ground itself began groaning beneath the weight of sin.”

We can find reference to this in Romans 8:22;

22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

All this has just helped to show the level of frustration, the futility of a groaning life without hope. But, there is hope! The hope of a savior, the hope of salvation, the hope of redemption, the hope of restoration. We can begin to see the hope in Romans 8:23-25

23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.


So as Christians we have hope for an eternity of better things and we wait patiently. As Paul concludes in Romans 8:38-39

38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christian, isn’t that so comforting? Even with the frustrations of life, the suffering, the groaning; nothing and I mean nothing will ever separate us from the Love of God through Christ! Amen and Amen.

Grace and Peace!