“Poor things,” I muttered, “all because of the original sin.” I was clearing dead leaves from struggling herbs in pots and ground cover in landscape beds. 

We use the word “original” to refer to something existing from the beginning, as in an original location, or something created by a particular artist, or something that was a copy of an original.

But today, I’m imagining the original Garden of Eden before the fall.

Original Garden

And so, to Scripture for answers.

⁸ Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.⁹ The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:8-10, 15-17 NIV

Then God created Eve, a help-mate for Adam in this eternal, perfect, walled garden, the original Eden. Together, they exercised dominion through stewardship. From what happens next, we know that Eve also knew about God’s warning to Adam: the prohibition and the consequences.

Original Fall

Again, to Scripture, as the story continues in Genesis 3 NIV.

³ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” ⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 

When Eve ate the fruit and gave some to Adam, their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked. Adam and Eve covered themselves and hid from God when He called. Adam admitted his fear, blamed Eve for giving him the forbidden fruit, and blamed God for putting her with him. In his lack of taking personal responsibility—he knew the prohibition—and blaming, Adam sinned twice. When God asked Eve what she had done, she replied, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate,” both blaming and fessing up. 

There are consequences for all three, the serpent, woman, and man. God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden so they wouldn’t eat from the tree of life and live forever—in sin. Since then and now, every human is born spiritually blind, dead, and an enemy of God.

Original Sin

Though not all Christians believe in original sin, the Lutheran church Keith and I attend includes the confession of sin in every service. As Reverend Herbert C. Mueller writes, “…our confession teaches that we are all ‘full of evil lust and inclinations from [our] mothers’ wombs and are unable by nature to have true fear of God and true faith in God.’ (AC II). ‘What a pessimistic view of human nature!’ some say. ‘No,’ we respond, ‘it’s the only realistic view and explains what is really wrong with human beings.’”

As I prepare the land to bear fruit here at Vanaprastha, I keep images of the original garden, the fall, and my sin in front of me. And the original promise: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Linkup with Five Minute Friday:  https://fiveminutefriday.com/2025/02/27/fmf-writing-prompt-link-up-original/