NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

June 4 - Fig Leaf Failure

Scripture focus: Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"-saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves. When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God. God called to the Man: "Where are you?" Genesis 3:7-9 (The Message)

Adam and Eve got what they wanted; tasting the fruit immediately allowed them to see "what's really going on" - but it failed to provide them with God-vision goggles.
Living independently of God (abandoning their commitment to a love relationship with Him),

Adam and Even lost the ability to see themselves as God sees them - holy and dearly beloved. One bite of the fruit, and these two see themselves through a mirror best reserved for circus acts and freak shows. Their self-image became distorted. Their esteem plummeted. No longer able to remember their favored status as kids of the King, their sin inflames their shame, and their shame becomes their defining feature. (Some people think their eviction from the Garden was the point of "separation," but didn't the relationship with Adam, Eve and God really crash the minute they chose to distrust God?)

The other day I went to wash a load of clothes and in my haste slammed the washing machine top down on my poor little old thumb - an appendage that is completely ill-equipped to withstand the pressure of a fast moving washing machine lid. For the remainder of the evening, the only thing I could feel was my aching, purple thumb. My persistent cough was not an issue. Nor did I notice that my legs continued to work fine. All I could think of was my injury, and worry about whether my thumbnail would stay attached. No amount of ice, salve, or soothing words could comfort me.

Sin is like a sore thumb. The human mind, body and spirit make no provision for "handling" sin. As the authors of TrueFaced (a wonderful book I highly recommend to the reader) say far more eloquently than I ever could - sin refuses to be managed. We simply cannot handle, manage, or cope with sin.

When sin is inflamed, it triggers shame. Eve moved from trusting God to testing her limits, and ended up with a heap of shame. More on shame and its nasty effects on a person's spirit in the days ahead.

Recommended reading: Acts 25-28

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