Our new grandson Jackson had fine features, soft blemish-free skin, and ten tiny fingers and toes on two little hands and feet. How could any proud Grampa not see him as a“perfect”baby? He certainly was a miracle of divine formation (Psalm 139:13-14).

The apostle Paul gave us a broader view of such“perfect”little infants when he wrote,“Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin . . . . Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam”(Romans 5:12-14). In other words, every child is born with a tendency to sin. But that’s not Paul’s final word. He also wrote about Jesus, the“last Adam,”who became a“life-giving spirit”(1 Corinthians 15:45).

Long after man’s first sin, a baby was born who was God incarnate (John 1:14). God made Christ,“ who knew no sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we trust Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit creates within us a new desire to do what is pleasing to God. The flesh still has its pull, but the pull of the Spirit is stronger.

In the“first Adam”we’re all sinners. But let’s concentrate on who we are in the“last Adam.”  — Dennis J. De Haan