Galactic Criminals
A brief note about Satan's KPI.
Sin is something we do, not something that happens to us. Often, it is from something offered to us. The offer is temptation; the taking is sin.
Not Our Location
Eve took a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and gave it to Adam. Adam took it and ate it[1]. Abram (soon to be Abraham) committed the same sin as Adam. Abram and his wife Sarai had no children. Abram and Sarai feared God's promise of an heir would not happen without them "helping" God. "So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived.[2]."
Abram "took," as did Adam. Truth be told, at some point in our lives, we've all "took;" we've all taken something that temptation offered us. You've sinned, I've sinned, and the world is a synonym for sin. The best and worst people have sinned. We can go to the Moon or Mars, but we will remain sinners; sin is in our nature, not our location.
Galactic Criminals
For thousands of years, Satan was able to get people to sin simply by tempting them. It was as easy as taking candy from a baby; it still is. I wonder how proud the devil must have been of his temptation KPI (key performance indicator)? Then came Jesus.
We know Jesus was tempted[3]. But unlike every person who had ever lived, Jesus did not take what Satan offered, ever. God's Word says that Jesus was "one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." Now that's interesting.
Satan didn't stop tempting just because Jesus wrecked his KPI. He continues to tempt, and people continue to sin, but there are now some who sin less often; they are followers of Jesus.
No one, except Jesus, has ever lived a perfectly holy life. This includes people who are worshipped in other religions. Without the salvation Jesus offers, we remain a bunch of galactic criminals waiting for our eternal incarceration. But with Jesus, we are reconciled to God and have a home prepared for our arrival in heaven. Now that I’ll take!
Footnotes
Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 3:1-7 - New Living Translation. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved October 27, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203%3A1-7&version=NLT
Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 16:3-4 - English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved October 27, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2016%3A3-4&version=ESV
Bible Gateway passage: Hebrews 4:14-16 - English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved October 27, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%204%3A14-16&version=ESV