Looking at the world we live in, it’s clear that something has gone terribly wrong. No matter where you go on earth, you’ll find suffering, sadness, sorrow, sickness, and death. Large and scary animals hunt and gobble up cute and cuddly creatures. The ground around us sometimes shakes and splits. Living things grow older and weaker. And people lie, cheat, steal, and kill! But that’s not what our world was like back on the day God made our first human parents. When God formed Adam and Eve, he made them both holy and happy.

“Holy” is a word that means to be completely separated from sin. Isaiah 6:3 tells us that God is “holy, holy, holy.” Our God is so sinless and perfect, just one “holy” isn’t enough to describe him! When he made our first parents, God made them holy, too. Adam and Eve entered our world 100% sin-free. They were completely innocent from ever disobeying God’s commands. Everything they did was good and pleasing in the sight of their Creator.

God also made Adam and Eve happy. He placed our first parents in the midst of a beautiful garden. Their home was like an all-you-can-eat restaurant that served any fruit you could possibly imagine. Making lunch was as simple as plucking a tasty snack from a tree. And there were never any dishes to do after dinner!

They enjoyed a perfect paradise unstained by the curse of sin. There was no sadness or sickness or death. No scary animals prowled around, trying to gobble them up for dinner. They could pet a lion and not worry about it biting their arm off! Their marriage was absolutely perfect, too. After all, they were literally made for each other! The world was so nice and the weather was so perfect, Adam and Eve didn’t even bother to wear any clothes!

Sadly, things didn’t stay that way. In our next question, we’ll learn that our first parents sinned. They made the dreadful decision to disobey God’s command. The moment they sinned, they were no longer holy. And because of the suffering and sadness of sin’s curse, they would also no longer be perfectly happy. After the sin of Adam and Eve, the holy and happy home of our first parents was transformed into a planet of sadness and sin. That’s the world you and I are born into. And that’s the world Jesus came to save!

Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:4-8; Gen. 3:1-7; Eccl 7:29; Hos. 6:7