By one man

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. – Romans 5.12-15

One man broke the world. By his sin Adam destroyed everything that what right and good. But it didn't stop with Adam. Sin passed on to every generation because all have sinned.

That broken world is obvious. This week we saw the tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon. That got loads of publicity, but in the last year or so more have died in Iraq and Somalia. We are following the news of the abortion butcher in America who killed new-borns by snipping their spinal cords with scissors. This country has been rocked by the scandals of the Magdalene laundries and paedophile priests.

Yes, Adam broke the world – but one man could repair it. Adam’s sin brought death to the world.

If we were stick with Adam we would be in deep, deep trouble. There would be no hope.

But God sent a gift to the world. It came through the grace of God manifested in His Son Jesus Christ. And in that gift the grace of God abounded to many.

Therefore there is hope for this broken world. That hope is not in reforming man – that obviously hasn’t worked. It isn’t in stricter laws or better societies or ‘imagining’ and better world.

The only hope is that man would be transformed by the renewing power that comes through the free gift of grace that one man, Jesus, could provide.