The Legacy of Hamartia - Part One
It boggles my mind. We are created in God’s image. We possess his rational, moral, social, artistic, and spiritual characteristics. We reflect God in our design. We have so much potential in us. Yet, some of us love more of what is not in him than we do what is in him. This baffles me.
Is it a matter of wanting something you cannot have? Or is it something else? I think it is something else, which we know as sin. As we start working through relational healing in 2021, we must realize relational healing requires an understanding of sin and how it works.
This three-part allegorical story provides the insight we need to understand how sin was born.
When we understand the nature of sin, we can separate it from the image of God which is our base. Then we can learn how to hate the sin and not the person. We learn how to pray for deliverance from sin. We remember to embrace the image of God we are created in and abhor the sin we practice.
Enjoy part one of The Legacy of Hamartia. Check back next week for part two.
It was impatient.
The Friend of Hamartia (ham-ar-tee-ah) had developed the plan and was confident it would work. Failure was not an option, according to the Friend of Hamartia.
Hamartia asked how the Friend of Hamartia could be so certain. The response was because he had watched the couple for along time. They were innocent. Naive almost. Trusting. Too trusting. They knew their job description.
Yhovah (yeh-ho-vaw’) ‘Elohiym (el-o-heem’) gave it to them in the beginning. The description was short and clear.
Take care of the trees and the vegetation of the Gan. Take care of the animals. Leave the tree in the center of Gan alone or it could kill you.
Three simple and clear instructions made up the job description.
The Friend of Hamartia saw this as a weakness. Whenever there is clear and simple, there is a desire to complicate. And thus, the Friend of Hamartia was willing to oblige the desire.
Hamartia lived at the tree in the center of the Gan. The tree, called Ats (ates) Da’ath (dah’-ath) Towb (tobe) Ra (rah), was its home. Hamartia was powerful and if it could get outside of the gate and beyond the Gan, it could show others it’s power. After all, it had the knowledge of what was good and what was evil. Others outside the gate would want to know that, thought Hamartia.
When Hamartia told the Friend of Hamartia what it was thinking, the Friend of Hamartia smiled. His smile was beautiful and bright. In fact, the Friend of Hamartia was beautiful. Lovely to look at and a wonderful player of music. Who could resist him?
The plan was to begin with ‘Ishshah (ish-shaw’) and to plant a doubt in her mind. To make her long for something she did not want. To tell her a lie by bending the truth.
Hamartia told the Friend of Hamartia, “a lie is evil.”
The Friend of Hamartia responded, “it is only a little evil because it’s almost and somewhat the truth so it’s almost and somewhat good.” Then he went to find ‘Ishshah (ish-shaw’).
Hamartia pondered how an almost truth that felt like a lie wasn’t still evil as he watched the beauty of the Friend of Hamartia glide away.
Check back next week for part two.