Let's face it. We all mess up (me, more often than not), and sometimes our mess-ups seem more severe than other times.
To be completely honest, there are days that end with me trying to excuse my behavior, but in the end I find myself ducking my head in shame- in a way I guess I am trying to hide from the One who can in fact save me.
I have a sin problem and you have a sin problem. We all do. I thought it might be good idea to go back to the beginning with Adam and Eve and look at how their sin was dealt with then. What I found blew my mind. No joke.
Genesis chapter 2, verse 25 says, "Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame," but after they ate from the tree that God commanded them not to eat from "the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves," (3:7).
The two of them saw there was a problem with their nakedness, so they tried to cover themselves up on their own. We know that they knew they had done wrong because when they heard the Lord God walking in the garden "...they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden," (3:8).
There are repercussions for our sin. That's just the hard truth. In Genesis God curses them but today, it may just be the results of our bad decisions. Indeed, there are consequences, but our God is not only just, but loving too. Very, very loving.
After God lists their consequence for their sin, "the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them," (3:21). He clothed them. He covered their sin. This is our God- One who is good and loving, for He did not need to do this but He chose to.
There was shedding of blood, the blood of an animal, in order for their sin to be covered.
"In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness," (Hebrews 9:22).There has to be shedding of blood for our forgiveness. And just as God shed the blood of an animal in order to cover Adam and Eve, God shed the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, so that His blood would cover our sin once and for all.
We can try all we want. We can come up with excuses for our sin. We can try to cover it up and hide it by making our own garments out of fig leaves. Or we can go to God and confess it to Him and let Him cover us. Our way will never work. God sees through us. He sees our hearts.
But when we place our trust in Jesus Christ, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace," (Ephesians 1:7).
Dear friends, you're covered. Your sins are paid for. Gone. Tossed into the depths of the sea because God Almighty chooses not to remember your sin. There is no need to hide from God. In fact, He is the answer. He is our escape. Our refuge. His blood is our covering. But you must go to Him.
After Adam and Eve hid from God, God called out, "Where are you?"
Adam answered Him. He responded to God's call, and we must do the same.
"Yet if you devote your heart to Him and stretch out your hands to Him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by," (Job 11:13-16).
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