We often see ads for food products touting them as “all natural” and we assume that means they must be wholesome and good for us. We don’t stop to realize that arsenic, strychnine and hemlock are “all natural” too, yet they are deadly poisons. Nature, as God created it in the Garden of Eden, was perfect and pure. The human nature of Adam and Eve was also perfect and pure because they were created in God’s image. It wasn’t until they disobeyed God that pain, sin, evil and death became a permanent part of their nature (and ours). The natural world around us was also affected by their disobedience. Poison ivy, poison oak, thorn bushes and weeds are now part of the wonders of God’s creation. Those obstacles and pitfalls exist as punishment for human disobedience and sin.
The Bible is full of references to man’s sinful nature. The psalmist described his tormentor; “Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing, or the water he drinks, or the rich food he eats.” (Psalms 109:18) Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Rome, “For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s law and it never will. That is why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.” (Romans 8:7-8) We are all born innocent and without sin, but the moment we reach the age of accountability our inherited sinful nature takes control of our lives and leads us away from God.
We were all lost and seemingly without hope, but God provided a way for us to break the curse of Adam’s sin and return to the original nature of Adam before he disobeyed God. God sent His son to die for our sins and provide us with His righteousness and His Spirit to guide us toward God and away from our old nature. All we have to do is admit our sinful nature, repent and then believe in and follow Jesus Christ. Paul described it like this, “When you came to Christ, you were ‘circumcised,’ but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision – the cutting away of your sinful nature.” (Colossians 2:11) “Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.” (Ephesians 4:24) It is a new nature to us, but it is really the original nature God created in Adam and Eve before they disobeyed Him. I will never cease to praise Him for providing escape and hope where there was none.
As far as those flaws in our natural environment, God has given us His power to overcome them while we are here and then He will provide a new heaven and a new earth free of them as our eternal home with Him. (See Revelation 21:1, Isaiah 65:17 and 2 Peter 3:13)