Taking Away Our Senses (Genesis 2:16-17)

Recently, I had a problem in my left ear which almost completely blocked out my hearing. Not only was this debilitating for my work, it hindered my guitar playing since I was unable to hear all of the notes nor the rest of the musicians. Whenever I missed a word or phrase in a conversation, I grew increasingly annoyed and frustrated. My temper was short. All this because one of my senses was impaired. I was no longer in control.

I sought God’s direction during this trial, asking Him to show me what He wanted to me to learn from this episode. How could He use this to draw me closer to Him?

One immediate lesson was the stark reality of my flawed and mortal body that is slowly decaying and dying.  As we all witness the slow and inexorable aging of our bodies, it is a vivid reminder that our life is finite and this was not God’s original plan for man.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17

God created Adam with a perfect body and mind. But when Adam disobeyed God and sinned, the inevitable path to a physical and spiritual death began. In a sense, man’s senses and control were slowly taken away. When he once had command and dominion over of all the animals, this right was relinquished. The earth would no longer easily yield its fruit. Conflict between husband and wife would now be inevitable.

God is under no obligation to save man from this wretched fate. Indeed, we all deserve death and eternal separation for putting our will before God’s commands. And yet, God, in His incomparable grace and mercy, provided an answer. He sent to man His only Son, Jesus Christ. And whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, someday, you will be resurrected with a new body, an incorruptible body, one that will never die or decay. It will be the body that God had intended man to have from the very beginning. And whatever senses or abilities that have diminished or have been lost to age, will be restored to perfection.

What a wonderful God we serve!

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.