Yesterday’s post was a bit of speculation about our ideas of original sin, rebellion from the authority of God, the biblical account, and their interface with science – specifically genetics. The post offered:
In a faith discussion that accepts evolution one has to wonder if natural selection would have conferred on them tendencies for behaviors that favored passing on of their genes. Competition for resources and breeding opportunities would have led to behaviors that, for moral agents, would be sinful. When they were first somehow made aware of God and God’s will for them, a call to trust and obey God would have been in tension with their instincts. It seems instincts won and the rebellion spreads.
How much? If you follow the narrative past the episode of Cain and Abel, there are hints as to the phenomenal spread of sin and evil, so much so that our reading for today begins: “When the LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, he regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was grieved.” (Gen 6:5-6)
This verse presents a striking image of God’s sorrow over the wickedness that had spread across humanity. It challenges our understanding of an all-knowing and sovereign God—how can He regret something if He knew it would happen?
Rather than seeing this as a contradiction, we can view it as an expression of God’s deep, personal investment in His creation. His regret does not imply a mistake, but rather, it reveals His heart—a heart grieved by sin and brokenness. Just as a loving parent mourns a wayward child’s choices, God grieved over the corruption of humanity.
While death and destruction is the result of evil, death and destruction cannot solve the problem of evil either. And so, even in His regret, God’s response was not purely destruction, but also redemption. Amid judgment, He provided a way forward through Noah, preserving the hope of restoration. This reminds us that God’s justice is always accompanied by His mercy. His sorrow over sin does not lead Him to abandon His creation, but to work toward its renewal.
Just as the prior readings from Genesis, in part, call us to reflect on the “origin of sin” in our lives, today’s reading reminds us of the way in which sin wounds more than just ourselves. It also reminds us that God’s ultimate goal is redemption, that all might be saved.
Photo Credit: NASA via Unsplash