Then...

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden…they hid from the LORD God…but the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’ He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid… so I hid.’ And he said, ‘…Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’ The man said…Then the LORD God said to the woman…The woman said…The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them…he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Gen. 8-24

The worse ‘Then’ in the history of the earth – the day sin in a perfect world was conceived and born. I am led to Genesis this morning with a heavy heart for the birth of sin but was blessed in the message regarding God’s response to the fall of man. It never dawned on me until this morning how awesome God’s response was to His children falling from grace.

God did not leave them nor did he forsake them by standing on the other side of the Garden. He didn’t let them wallow in their guilt and shame but came looking for them in their sin. He pursued and approached them where they were – hiding from God in the trees hoping their quick fix of fig leaves would cover their sin. God confronted their sin with questions, fellowship and personal involvement. He didn’t leave them alone in their transgressions but became intimately involved in the situation.

He not only was with them immediately after sinning but He provided them true cover for their shame – permanent garments of skin instead of temporary fig leaves. He didn’t lead them in temptation again by giving them additional opportunities to eat from the forbidden fruit but rather placed a guard around the tree. He placed boundaries for their appetite of sin and began a plan of redemption for the future – Christ Jesus. The very concept of hiding their sin within the trees of the Garden would be matched by the Tree of Calvary, not only hiding all sins but removing all sins from our lives.

When we sin we cannot expect God to look the other way but can expect His involvement and discipline but continued fellowship. He is with us in our righteousness and with us in our transgressions. He will never leave our side as we walk in His garden and will come to whatever tree of transgression for which we may be hiding.

The good news in this message is that our performance does not mandate God’s presence or acceptance once we are His children!