Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— Romans 5:12
I was recently reminded of this passage of scripture while traveling home from a work assignment. Our flight was delayed, initially for only 2 hours. This is reasonable for most people and expected every now and then. The odd news came when we were already seated on the plane. It was late so I had my headphones in, ready to snooze for the short flight home, when I noticed people beginning to get up and out of the plane. I took off my headphones and asked the people around me what was going on. Apparently, an email had been sent out stating that the flight had been delayed…till 8am…the next morning!
Needless to say, we were all disappointed and looking for the best way to express how we felt. Some cried, some fussed, some quietly grabbed their stuff and walked out but a small group of us decided to laugh about it. Particularly when we were finally given the reason for the delay….the co-pilot went home. He was tired. Yep, not weather, not mechanical, we had no assistant pilot. He was at home…in bed while we sat there waiting!!
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. – Romans 5:15-16
It caused me to reflect how one man could affect the lives of so many with one action. Like Adam’s sin caused all of us to suffer pain, isolation from God, and exposure to the knowledge of sin, this one man had caused many of us to be vulnerable to our human reaction to stressful situations. One man caused many to have to change plans while some chose to drive the few hours home. Adam’s sin caused us to be born into a reality we did not envision and have to make decisions we did not anticipate, made us vulnerable to the wiles of the enemy, and exposed the worst of our human reactions to everything under the sun.
While there was no “Christ” in this situation, except for the flight crew that showed up, Christ came to cancel the sin of Adam. By one man’s sacrifice, we were set free. What took one man to destroy took another man to restore. Only the second man was more than just a man. We praise God for that! The second man, Jesus, revoked the penalty and restored us back to Himself and is on a daily pursuit to transform us into His image, from glory to glory.
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. – Romans 5:18-19
We no longer have to endure the penalty of sin, which is death. We can live in the freedom of our redemption, which is Christ in us, the hope of glory.
There were several jokes thrown around that made the time easier for all of us. The end result was that we had to see things in the right perspective and my only hope and prayer is that I should never be the one man that causes so many to suffer, if I can help it.
Nelson Masinde 