I recently heard on the news that a sixty-year-old woman and her daughter were en route to their rural home community after attending a justice forum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. During their journey, they passed a flatbed semi-truck loaded with industrial equipment. The highway they were traveling on was undivided. Reports indicated that some of the load fell from the truck, causing two pipes to bounce onto the road, with one heading directly toward the driver's windshield of the vehicle carrying the family.
The daughter, who was a passenger, reported that her mother swerved the car to avoid a pipe hurtling towards the child. The mother absorbed the impact, tragically losing her life instantly, but saving her daughter. Some may view this as a tragedy, while others might see it as a courageous act of love. I choose to see it the latter way. This mother of seven, who was also a grandmother to many, made a split-second, life-or-death decision to save her daughter’s life, sacrificing her own in the process. Such is the depth of selfless love! Such a remarkable sacrifice!
God's Love at Creation
There is Someone I know who loved us deeply enough to lay down His life for both you and me. 1 John 3:16 states, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” Now, let’s take a moment to revisit the book of Genesis. In this first book of the Bible, we uncover the story of Creation. Genesis 1:1 (KJV) declares, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The remainder of the chapter reveals that God created light, the sky and water, land and seas, the sun, moon, and stars, as well as fish, birds, and living creatures, including man and woman. After all this work, God rested, affirming that everything He made was very good.
Genesis 2:8 (KJV) states that “the Lord planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man.” In verse 15, God instructs Adam to tend to the garden and further commands him in verses 16–17, saying, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shall surely die.”
While all the animals had companions, Adam was alone without one like himself. Genesis 2:18 (KJV) states, “The Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” In verses 21–22, we read, “The Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man.” Upon seeing the woman, Adam instantly recognized her as part of himself, flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones.
In Genesis 3, we see Satan making his entrance and the couple succumbing to sin. The Bible informs us in 1 John 3:4 (KJV): “Whosoever commiteth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” Lucifer, also known as Satan, was once an angel in Heaven. Revelation 12:7–9 describes: “And war broke out in Heaven: Michael and His angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in Heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the Earth and his angels were cast out with him.”
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden” (Genesis 3:1 KJV)? The situation intensifies with Eve’s reply. “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Genesis 3:2–3 KJV). Satan responded in verses 4–5, saying, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Eve believed the deception of Satan, and she and Adam consumed the fruit that God had expressly forbidden. This marked the beginning of humanity's Fall, leading to decay and death. As human beings, created with free will, we possess the ability to make our own choices, whether positive or negative. It’s a choice. By eating the forbidden fruit, the first couple opted to obey Satan over God, which had significant consequences for them and for us all.
An Even More Remarkable Sacrifice
What fascinates me about the story of Adam and Eve is that God, in His wisdom, established a plan for our salvation from sin even before (2 Timothy 1:9) the world was created. John 3:16–17 (KJV) states: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” Jesus, the Son of God, set aside His divinity, departed from the glory of Heaven, and came to Earth to rescue us from the power of the Devil. You can find the accounts of Jesus’ miraculous birth in the Gospels of Matthew (1:18–25) and Luke (2:1–20).
Essentially, Jesus was destined to die because He was the only one capable of redeeming us from the curse of sin, which leads to death. He exchanged His life for ours! Personally, I feel humbled when I reflect on how deeply God cared for us, choosing to sacrifice His life for our sake. On that fateful day, that Canadian mother, in her humanity, loved her daughter so immensely that she gave her own life for her. I can only imagine the profound impact that decision had on the daughter, whose life was changed forever.
Jesus triumphed over death and the grave permanently. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57 KJV).
Call to Action
I love the words of this song by The Talleys entitled “His Life For Mine.”1 The chorus goes like this:
“His life for mine, His life for mine
How could it ever be?
That He would die, God’s son would die
To save a wretch like me
What love divine, He gave His life for mine.”
This is the ultimate sacrifice, and Jesus believes you are worth it. May our lives be transformed forever through Jesus Christ.
How about inviting Jesus into your life and experiencing the wonderful transformation He can bring?
Unless noted otherwise, scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
- The Talley Trio. "His Life for Mine." The Message, 2003. genius.com/Talley-trio-his-life-for-mine-lyrics
