When I was in England some years ago, I noticed that the residents called the tow trucks, “Recovery.” Somehow that seems more positive than “wrecker,” to me. This gives hope that the smashed vehicles in an accident might be recovered.
Adam and Eve needed recovery. My friend’s mom used to advise him, “You can get in more trouble in one night than you can get out of in a lifetime.” This sounds like something my mom might have said. Isn’t this what happened to Adam and Eve?
First, the good news. Their failure was not immediately fatal. Eve received her name as the mother of all living. God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve to wear. Whose skin? Where did God find the garments? “The wages of sin is death,” Paul later wrote (Romans 6:23). Did animals have to die because of Adam and Eve’s sin? This foretold the later practice of animal sacrifice to cover the sins of ancient Israel. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.
What was the bad news? God put them out of the garden and ensured they couldn’t get back in. If they fell to temptation again, they might eat from the tree of life and live forever. What’s wrong with that? Well we don’t want to live in our fallen state forever. We need recovery. Adam would work the soil. No more free lunches.
God, who provided coverings for them has also provided a sacrifice for our sin in the death of his own son. Our sin would have been fatal for us but instead it was fatal for Jesus. Now that he has given his life, though, we can be recovered, redeemed, and restored. Our lives may be a wreck, but we are not beyond the power of God’s grace to recover us. Once he redeems us, we will live with God forever. We can experience more of God’s love in a moment than we can get out of for an eternity.
