Beyond playing Hide and Seek, the casualty of sin brings childbirth pain, relational conflict, job pain, and spiritual and physical death. And so to preserve the perfect Garden paradise, God CLEANS UP the mess by kicking them out of the garden forever. Adam and Eve have to leave. Selfishness, pride and sin have no place in God’s perfect community. Genesis 3:22-23 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. From our Lower Story perspective, this action seems harsh. Yet, disobedience cannot go unnoticed or unpunished by God. He’s a loving God, but He is also a just God. Yet, in spite of Adam and Eve’s son Cain killing his brother Abel; in spite of the rampant sin virus that continues even today; in spite of God choosing to start over after a worldwide flood, sparing only Noah and his family; In spite of breaking our relationship with God, God’s Upper Story still includes Him wanting to be with us. NO. It won’t be in the Garden of Eden. God plans to bring us home to a perfect place called heaven where we can live forever with Him. God’s Upper Story hasn’t changed. He hasn’t given up on us—He can’t. We’re his crowning achievement. We’re made for Him. Thankfully, God didn’t give up on Adam and Eve. He still wants to be with them. Before God kicked them out of the garden, he showed them clearly that His Upper Story was still in play. God saw their sinful attempt to hide and cover up, so He mercifully covered them up: Genesis 3:21 “And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.” The skins represented the first animals that died in Adam &Eve’s place so they could be covered. The immediate consequences of punishment and death that Adam &Eve deserved went to animals instead. God didn’t want Adam and Eve to tackle their Lower Story in fig leaves, so He reached out in love and graciously gave them skins. God redeems them—He buys back his prized creation, he regains his wayward couple through an animal sacrifice—it’s all a part of God’s Upper Story. God wants to be with you, God wants to be with you. You’re his crowning achievement—you’re very good in his eyes. Romans 5:15 (NLT) But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.
Posted on: Sun, 04 May 2014 01:23:18 +0000
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