Salvation for Shame

Genesis 3:7-12 -    Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"  And he said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."  He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"  The man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." 

That old saying…”oh what a tangled web we weave…when first we practice to deceive”….from Walter Scott’s Marmion, published in 1808…is running through my mind.  The serpent deceived Eve…Eve gave it to Adam….and they all ended up paying a high price for this first sin.  The disobedience that led to the eating of the fruit of Conscience…filled the garden with way more that God intended to be there.  Adam an Eve’s eyes were opened to more than their nakedness…their sin introduced shame to their heart. The kind of shame that has us running from God…because we are ashamed of what we have become.  We run and hide and separate ourselves from the one person who can fix us.

Sin has consequences…sometimes they are pretty tough. We are banished from a wonderful garden …complete with everything we need…to toil the earth for our sustenance.  But a wonderful thing happened when Adam admitted his sin…despite his harsh punishment for listening to Eve…and eating that fruit…for disobeying God….God allowed him to live…God provided a way for Adam to live.  He banished him from the garden …so he could protect the tree of life from Satan’s trickery…but he put in motion a wonderful plan to reconnect man with God.

We won’t read about God’s plan for a while in this story…but God will begin to reconnect with him…to rebuild his relationship with man based on sacrifices….offerings…to show that he loves God and will obey him this time around...and even later in the story still…God is going to send his own son down to earth…to be a perfect lamb and sacrifice….cause man just can’t get it right. It is amazing to me…as I read this first account of sin….how many times God will attempt to reconnect with us…the length he goes to save us once and for all.

And even more amazing to me is how that plan works…all we have to do is believe…and love him more than anything else. And when we mess up…like Eve…and we feel that same guilt…that shame ….and we hide from God just like they did…we just need to stop and admit what we did…to reconnect with him.  We need to stop being so defensive …stop hiding from god…and tell him that we are sorry we disobeyed.  That admission of our guilt…it erases the sin from God’s memory and allows him to start the healing process.  It allows him to begin to teach us that his way is better than our way.  There may be a few consequences on the road to recovery….but they eventually lead to a life with the father…the son…and a spirit that will give us the strength to be obedient the next time the serpent rears his ugly head to us with a temptation again.

Father…thank you for not allowing Adam and Eve to die when you found out their sin.  Thank you for putting a plan in motion that would allow them to live…allow them to have a second chance to obey you.  For because you allowed them life…I too may experience what it is like to walk with you…and have a relationship with the best friend I have ever had.  I ask you to keep exposing my sin father…even the sin I have covered up for many years...sins I have even forgotten.  Help me admit them to you…so you can begin to wash them from me…and make me a stronger vessel to share your truth.  Help me to walk with you in truth…help me to share the great things you have done for me….the strength you have provided as I have let you lead me through some pretty tough times of life. Show me father that your way is the best way….and don’t let me fall back into selfishness and think that I can do it on my own ever again. Amen