Before and After Sin

I had wanted to visit the Ark Encounter since it opened in 2016, and we finally had the opportunity to go. The life-sized recreation of Noah’s ark is located in Williamstown, Kentucky, with its sister attraction, the Creation Museum, just down the road in nearby Petersburg. We bought combo passes and went to both places in one day. 

To drive home the idea of how the world was in its infancy, both places had beautiful gardens as part of the attractions. Visitors get a Garden of Eden feel as they meander through parks, and they are constantly reminded of how things were before sin. In the Bible’s first book it tells us that sin led to the fall, and ultimately to the flood recorded in Genesis 6-8. The landscaping was breathtaking, and as someone who wishes his thumb were greener, I enjoyed the detail in each square foot. After a little bit of enjoying, however, I began to sneeze. Then my eyes began to water. Then my nose was running. Soon my face broke out and I was a mess, forced to buy Claritin before my trip was ruined. 

That experience hit me in more ways than one. I was struck by a powerful object lesson. There I was trying to picture the world before sin, and ultimately what it will look like after sin, but I couldn’t fully enjoy it because of my allergies. The wonderful irony is that allergies are a result of sin and the curse, so I couldn’t enjoy those thoughts for long before I was brought back to the reality of this fallen world. Every thing that ever goes wrong has sin as it root. We have not God to blame, but Adam. But hallelujah, we have the Last Adam, Christ Jesus, to thank for giving us victory over sin, and in the future victory over its full effect! 

Instead of trying to think back to how nice it would have been before sin, we can look forward to how nice it will be after sin. In the Bible’s last book it gives us a glimpse of this anticipated state: heaven comes to earth, Jesus sits on the throne, and we live with Him in bliss for eternity. Whenever things don’t go your way, just remind yourself of what you have to look forward to if you belong to the Lord.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has in store for those who love Him.”

I Corinthians 2:9