Reason #572
I've made it through the first 5 chapters of Genesis so far this week. Slow and steady wins the race. I'm trying my best to read intentionally. To really seek and search. To learn new things and to find comforting revelations. And the joy in reading God's word is that those are possibilities every time.
Maybe you've been in a really close relationship before and you let that person down. Or maybe, you were the one who was let down. There was this one thing that you both knew was an absolute no, and it happened. You did it, they did it, and it was a game changer. Of all the things that could have happened in your relationship, this was the worst. And now, things would never be the same again. Everything changed because of one bad decision.
Adam and Eve had the joy of walking and fellowshipping with the Lord day in and day out. The crown of creation, and they got to experience the creator in tangible ways. All they knew was good. These two didn't know what pain was. They didn't understand things like suffering, betrayal, hurt, sorrow, regret, remorse, or heartbreak. Life was good, all the time. Their days were filled with joy and happiness. And although they didn't know bad, they knew the word. Evil, was what He called it. Don't eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This was the one thing God has asked them not to do. Other than that, they were free to enjoy life. But, isn't this human nature? We love to flirt with sin, sin that leads to death. And when we are told not to do something, it's the one thing we can't help but want to do the most.
Adam and Eve walked by that tree plenty of times, I'm sure. They may have even sat under it, seeking its shade. They probably looked at the fruit it bore and wondered what it would taste like. But God had told them no and up to this point, they had obeyed. Yet all it took was one little prompting. Notice the serpent never "forced" Eve to taste that fruit. He basically just reminded her that it was there for the taking. In fact, He pretty much coerced her with facts. He reminded her that if she ate from that tree, she would finally get to know what this evil was. After all, Eve had never experienced evil. And so curiosity overcame obedience and she took the first bite of death. Adam was quick to join and it didn't take long before they realized the mistake they had made.
Have you ever been in that place before? You flirted with temptation for too long only convincing yourself that it really wasn't so bad. In fact, it might even be good for you. Plus, this was your decision anyway so it wouldn't matter. But no sinful decision we make ever effects just us. The consequences are far reaching, and ultimately all sin leads to some sort of death. And so you gave in only to quickly realize that there was no taking it back and you were in over your head. Great, how were you going to get yourself out of this one? And, how were you going to explain yourself to the one you let down?
Notice the Adam and Eve approach to covering their sin. These two covered themselves and hid. They came up with an incredibly foolish and obvious way to try and hide their shame, which only gave them away. Because up until this point, these two had never worn clothes before. All of the sudden, they thought a bunch of fig leaves would do the trick, as if God could be fooled. And when they heard Him coming, they hid. "Shhhh... don't let Him know we are here. Maybe He will forget about us and then we'll never have to tell Him. Let's just keep this our little secret." Well, friends, sin is always brought to light eventually no matter how much you try to conceal it. I can only imagine the way they felt as they heard Him approaching. I am sure they were sick to their stomachs, terrified, full of regret, and devastated. After all, how do you look someone you love dearly in the eye and tell them that you betrayed them? How do you tell them you broke their trust, that you did that one thing you both new was a game changer? Because as difficult as it is to say and hear, it's even more difficult to watch someone else's heart break because of your decisions.
Well, the Lord found them. He sought them out and He didn't let them hide in their sin and shame. And He began to ask them simple questions. If they loved Him, why were they hiding from Him? Why were they afraid and ashamed? And they had to tell Him the truth, face to face. Now, the Lord could have done a lot of things with them and it would have seemed completely justifiable. He could have poured out wrath on them, set them ablaze, wiped them out and started over. He could have rejected them, abandoned them, and completely severed His relationship with them. But notice what He did. After giving them a serious talking to, which they most certainly deserved, He covered them. He clothed them with His selfless and sacrificial love, and He covered their shame. He didn't make them walk around with their sin exposed for the rest of creation to see. No, instead of pouring out anger and wrath, He poured out love and mercy. Instead of condemning, He was forgiving. And although the consequences of their sin created separation between them and the Lord, He continued to be their God. He never left them or replaced them, but He remained constantly faithful despite their faithlessness.
I've been there before. Standing before Him in my shame and regret for the things I've done. Feeling completely exposed, sorrowful, embarrassed and sorry. If only I would have listened. If only I would have been obedient instead of curious. If only. But God has done the same for me, too. With the blood of His Son, He removed my stains. With His love and mercy, He covered my shame. Clothing me in righteousness even when I deserved rags. And He has always remained faithful. A God who has shown grace from the very start and has never stopped. And I'm so grateful that He doesn't let us hide in our sin and our shame. That He seeks us out to heal us and restore us and redeem us from those entangling situations. That He forgives us, accepts us, and loves us regardless of the amount of heartbreak we may cause. And even though we always deserves worse, God is overly compassionate to us. To give us life when we constantly seek death even to the point of sending His Son to lose His life to overcome death. We are covered. Covered by blood, by grace, by love, and we need to be a people who remember that rather than choosing to live otherwise.
And so you've got a tree, too. A tree that produces fruit. You can choose to eat it, or you can choose not to. But I think the lesson here is that obeying God is far better than gaining earthly wisdom on your own. Learn from Eve and realize that bad fruit disguised as good fruit, no matter how lovely it may be, will never be good fruit. Every good and perfect thing comes from above, and if it's not from the Lord, it's for your best that you keep on walking until you find the fruit that is.
#572 - Because He clothes us in His selfless, sacrificial love, and He covers our shame.
"May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees, that I may not be put to shame." - Psalm 119:80
Maybe you've been in a really close relationship before and you let that person down. Or maybe, you were the one who was let down. There was this one thing that you both knew was an absolute no, and it happened. You did it, they did it, and it was a game changer. Of all the things that could have happened in your relationship, this was the worst. And now, things would never be the same again. Everything changed because of one bad decision.
Adam and Eve had the joy of walking and fellowshipping with the Lord day in and day out. The crown of creation, and they got to experience the creator in tangible ways. All they knew was good. These two didn't know what pain was. They didn't understand things like suffering, betrayal, hurt, sorrow, regret, remorse, or heartbreak. Life was good, all the time. Their days were filled with joy and happiness. And although they didn't know bad, they knew the word. Evil, was what He called it. Don't eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This was the one thing God has asked them not to do. Other than that, they were free to enjoy life. But, isn't this human nature? We love to flirt with sin, sin that leads to death. And when we are told not to do something, it's the one thing we can't help but want to do the most.
Adam and Eve walked by that tree plenty of times, I'm sure. They may have even sat under it, seeking its shade. They probably looked at the fruit it bore and wondered what it would taste like. But God had told them no and up to this point, they had obeyed. Yet all it took was one little prompting. Notice the serpent never "forced" Eve to taste that fruit. He basically just reminded her that it was there for the taking. In fact, He pretty much coerced her with facts. He reminded her that if she ate from that tree, she would finally get to know what this evil was. After all, Eve had never experienced evil. And so curiosity overcame obedience and she took the first bite of death. Adam was quick to join and it didn't take long before they realized the mistake they had made.
Have you ever been in that place before? You flirted with temptation for too long only convincing yourself that it really wasn't so bad. In fact, it might even be good for you. Plus, this was your decision anyway so it wouldn't matter. But no sinful decision we make ever effects just us. The consequences are far reaching, and ultimately all sin leads to some sort of death. And so you gave in only to quickly realize that there was no taking it back and you were in over your head. Great, how were you going to get yourself out of this one? And, how were you going to explain yourself to the one you let down?
Notice the Adam and Eve approach to covering their sin. These two covered themselves and hid. They came up with an incredibly foolish and obvious way to try and hide their shame, which only gave them away. Because up until this point, these two had never worn clothes before. All of the sudden, they thought a bunch of fig leaves would do the trick, as if God could be fooled. And when they heard Him coming, they hid. "Shhhh... don't let Him know we are here. Maybe He will forget about us and then we'll never have to tell Him. Let's just keep this our little secret." Well, friends, sin is always brought to light eventually no matter how much you try to conceal it. I can only imagine the way they felt as they heard Him approaching. I am sure they were sick to their stomachs, terrified, full of regret, and devastated. After all, how do you look someone you love dearly in the eye and tell them that you betrayed them? How do you tell them you broke their trust, that you did that one thing you both new was a game changer? Because as difficult as it is to say and hear, it's even more difficult to watch someone else's heart break because of your decisions.
Well, the Lord found them. He sought them out and He didn't let them hide in their sin and shame. And He began to ask them simple questions. If they loved Him, why were they hiding from Him? Why were they afraid and ashamed? And they had to tell Him the truth, face to face. Now, the Lord could have done a lot of things with them and it would have seemed completely justifiable. He could have poured out wrath on them, set them ablaze, wiped them out and started over. He could have rejected them, abandoned them, and completely severed His relationship with them. But notice what He did. After giving them a serious talking to, which they most certainly deserved, He covered them. He clothed them with His selfless and sacrificial love, and He covered their shame. He didn't make them walk around with their sin exposed for the rest of creation to see. No, instead of pouring out anger and wrath, He poured out love and mercy. Instead of condemning, He was forgiving. And although the consequences of their sin created separation between them and the Lord, He continued to be their God. He never left them or replaced them, but He remained constantly faithful despite their faithlessness.
I've been there before. Standing before Him in my shame and regret for the things I've done. Feeling completely exposed, sorrowful, embarrassed and sorry. If only I would have listened. If only I would have been obedient instead of curious. If only. But God has done the same for me, too. With the blood of His Son, He removed my stains. With His love and mercy, He covered my shame. Clothing me in righteousness even when I deserved rags. And He has always remained faithful. A God who has shown grace from the very start and has never stopped. And I'm so grateful that He doesn't let us hide in our sin and our shame. That He seeks us out to heal us and restore us and redeem us from those entangling situations. That He forgives us, accepts us, and loves us regardless of the amount of heartbreak we may cause. And even though we always deserves worse, God is overly compassionate to us. To give us life when we constantly seek death even to the point of sending His Son to lose His life to overcome death. We are covered. Covered by blood, by grace, by love, and we need to be a people who remember that rather than choosing to live otherwise.
And so you've got a tree, too. A tree that produces fruit. You can choose to eat it, or you can choose not to. But I think the lesson here is that obeying God is far better than gaining earthly wisdom on your own. Learn from Eve and realize that bad fruit disguised as good fruit, no matter how lovely it may be, will never be good fruit. Every good and perfect thing comes from above, and if it's not from the Lord, it's for your best that you keep on walking until you find the fruit that is.
#572 - Because He clothes us in His selfless, sacrificial love, and He covers our shame.
"May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees, that I may not be put to shame." - Psalm 119:80