In the Fall, leaves change colors and eventually fall to the ground. Removed from the life of the tree, the leaves die, dry, crumble, and are forgotten. But the trees remain alive, and new leaves appear in time.
When we speak of the Fall of Mankind, we refer to a time when mankind changed their allegiance, from God to self and Satan. Severed from relationship to God, which is spiritual death, mankind was also doomed to physical death. Yet by God's grace, renewed life is possible through the Savior Jesus Christ.
In Joe's sermon concerning the Fall, he mentioned how that first transgression (recorded in Genesis 3) resulted from diminishing the truthfulness of God's word. God graciously gave his world and his word to our first parents, Adam and Eve, and yet they devalued it. And at that moment, their relationship with God was altered - they had not only disobeyed, but had called into question his knowledge and honor and reliability.
It occurred to me that at this moment, they were likewise diminished. Sin corrupted them, as it does us. Our original purpose and value is diminished, revealed in broken relationships to God and others. Where there should be harmony, there is friction and even warfare.
Redemption is a reversal of this corrosive nature of sin. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are given new life -- the life of God from which we have been severed. This isn't magical as much as it is the fulfillment of a promise that God makes to us: As surely as he promised death for disobedience, he promises life for repentance and faith in his promises - and these promises are centered around Jesus Christ.
To believe these promises is to believe that what has been diminished in value will be restored, to the praise of God's mercy.
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