Earth Cursed

We were having a discussion in our small group Bible study a couple weeks ago on the topic of the earth and it's death. I made a statement that the earth was slowly dieing because of sin. This was something I felt, but had no proof of this - I couldn't back it up. Since then I've done a bit of research on the topic and this is what I've found.

Genesis 3:17 & 18 God says to Adam: "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you..."

OK so now we have proof of the curse. The 3rd chapter of Genesis is about the fall of man. There are consequences of sin; the most basic being death. You have to realize that God didn't want it this way. Man was supposed to live forever in harmony with God and His creation, but man chose badly and it affected the earth we live on.

Romans 8:20 & 21 states: For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

In other words, everything God created in Genesis is decaying because of man choice.

Romans 5:12 says: Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-

This passage reiterates that sin causes death and it states that everyone will die because everyone has sinned.

I realize that all this sounds harsh. It is harsh. There's really no other way it can be. We often use our own perspectives, but take it from God's: He can't be around sin. Sin is darkness; He is light. Sin is imperfect; He is perfect. Because we have sin; it keeps us from Him. But there is a clear path that He has paved that allows us to wash away that sin. I'm sure you're all aware of God's plan of salvation (If not read the Romans Road: Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-13). So the good news is that He didn't just say, "OK, they sinned, they're dead, goodbye." No, He made a plan and it involved Him coming to us.

To wrap this up, the death of the earth points to our need for salvation. My prayer is that you don't ignore that need.