Handing the apple back to God

On Sunday Steve preached a very moving sermon about  sin. Just as Adam listened to the silky voice of temptation and lusted after the gleaming bauble of a life led independently of God; so do we as we make choices which slowly but surely lead us away from our walk with God until we find ourselves lost and lonely in a terrible sin sick desert of a world.
Sin is a horrible thing which pollutes and destroys not only ourselves but our loved ones our children and all those with whom we come into contact, however the worst thing is how it separates us from the love and presence of God.
Our daily readings in WordLive are from the book of Joshua this week. After the great victory at Jericho one of the  Israelites disobeys God by taking some loot and hiding it this results in a terrible disaster not just for Achan the perpetrator but for the whole people. After much weeping and seeking God, God points the finger at the wrong doer who is ordered to be stoned along with his whole family and his property burnt. This is a accurate illustration of the consequences of sin and how it effects everyone with whom we have contact. It also shows how seriously God takes sin. Just as Adam and Achan sinned, so do we horribly and constantly. We too are under God's wrath and judgement.   However for us who have cast our souls upon the love and mercy of God in Jesus we receive a promise that when we confess our sins God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
A few days ago I had a moment when something clicked. A phrase in the creed is that after Jesus died on the cross, He descended into hell. Suddenly I had this terrible sinking feeling I imagined what my sins had condemned me to I was confronted with a vast abyss of hell (whatever that was) opening below me ready to engulf me; then  I fully understood what that phrase was about. Jesus had indeed descended into that place where sin is paid for and the soul is totally separated from a loving God. He bore all that punishment that I and every believer truly deserved and of which He was totally innocent. Once that reality dawns then you are thrown into a life of praise and worship overwhelmed by the love which each person of the Triune God has for you and you really do have to hand that apple back to God and not pick it up again.