Thought for the Day - Monday 19 April 2021

Thought for Monday 19 April 2021 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (New Living Translation)   But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.   Today’s reading takes us right back to Adam, the very first man created by God.  In Genesis chapters 2 and 3 we learn that Adam was told he could eat the fruit from any tree in the garden of Eden except one.  Eve was formed from the rib of Adam to keep him company, but the serpent tempted her to eat of the forbidden fruit.  She then gave some to Adam and he ate it as well.  When challenged by God if he had eaten from the tree, Adam admitted it but when he was questioned by God why he had disobeyed him, the best Adam could come up with was; ‘the woman made me do it’.  That excuse had as much impact then as it has today, and sin was born.   Because of this disobedience, man was punished by weeds now growing among his crops, women were punished by childbirth being a painful experience and both were punished by their earthly existence ending in death and so it has been since for the whole human race.  Even before formal laws were created, sin existed.  Even although the men and women that came after Adam and Eve had not directly disobeyed God, they inherited the sin from their first parents.   In the same way Adam brought death to many through his sin, Jesus brought God’s generous gift of forgiveness through his life and example and through his death and resurrection.  Jesus rose from the dead and will never die again.  Our reading encourages us by teaching us that the Lord is the first of a great harvest and that everyone who belongs to Him will have eternal life where sin and death will feature no more.  All we have to do is belong to Him.   Prayer Heavenly Father, we thank you for all things.  Especially now when the weather is becoming warmer, we thank you for the seasons and their continuity.  We thank you for the new life we see around us whether it be the new leaves on the tree or the new lambs running around with their mothers.  We thank you for the Easter story and the promise and hope it brings.  Help us to remember to thank you for all the good times in our lives. Amen.