If the greatest need of mankind is love, God has lavishly expressed it to us. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were able to daily communicate intimately with God. As eager lovers wait to see the sight of each other, so was the relationship with God. In the cool of the day, God would arrive to dwell near them. Never does the relationship suffer damage or separation until the moment the fruit was eaten. At the moment, Adam and Eve realized they were naked of the presence of God. As the cool of the day approaches, fear grips their hearts with bewilderment, what are we going to do? Instead of dealing directly with the situation, Adam and Eve cloth themselves with fig leaves.
Don’t they realize the fig leaves will give them away? Don’t they see it as obvious? It’s a physical garment made by human hands without the ability to cover their nakedness. Oh, maybe it can cover their physical nakedness from God’s view, so they think. Yet, they don’t realize their nakedness is plainly exposed before God.
As they hear the sound of God walking in the garden, they hide behind the trees. Although they covered their physical bodies, still they realize something is missing. Inside their heart feelings of fear, rejection, and guilt overcome the ability to comprehend a solution. So, they hide from Him. As God enters the garden, He calls out to them. Eagerly He is searching for their fellowship, communication, and unity. Where could they be? While God is calling, Adam and Eve are hiding behind the trees from His presence. They are already covered with fig leaves, why are they hiding behind the trees? It seems Adam and Eve started a trend for mankind, we keep trying to cover ourselves with anything to restore our soul. The voices of fear, feeling exposed, and removing ourselves from God keeps us alone.
We realize God created the world, we accept this by faith. Nevertheless, our lives are covered with guilt, so we keep God completely distant from us. We have tried to cover up our nakedness but the fig leaves keep falling. As Adam and Eve, we try to “fix” our lives so we can approach Him. Deep within our hearts, we know we have failed or fallen short of God’s purpose-to know God.
What’s so amazing about the garden account, we see God’s heart from the beginning. Although Adam and Eve try to cover their sin, God is completely aware of it. According to Genesis 3:10, “He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Adam completely describes what the destructive power of sin can do-it brings isolation. Sadly, so many people isolate themselves from God due to the trap of sin and Satan’s lies of deception. The power of sin has entangled their lives, it’s against all hope. Or is it?
Have you ever heard of a mediator? Well, a mediator is someone who goes between two parties to resolve an issue. A moment’s sin can bring a lasting consequence for our actions. Adam and Eve’s sin brought a lasting consequence upon them but it affected the entire human race. The human race suffers from feeling isolated, afraid, and naked or feeling incomplete in life. Have you ever asked yourself, “Why am I here?” “What is the purpose of life?” The purpose of life is to actually quite simple, it’s to know God intimately. Can we know God intimately? Yes, we can.
During the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin, God placed a plan in motion to redeem mankind to Him. Although she ate the fruit first, Eve was given a promise of life being restored. Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Although Satan tried to destroy mankind with his deception, God would restore them to Himself. The scripture above is the first prophecy of coming of Jesus Christ who would die to redeem mankind. Only through His redeeming work could we be reunited to God. He is the only mediator between God and man who can bring wholeness to the relationship.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 states, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men-the testimony given in its proper time.” Jesus is the mediator, He understands our weakness. He understands? Yes, He was tempted in all ways, yet He was without sin. Hebrews 4:15 shows, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet without sin.”
A question could be entering your mind, how could God love someone like me? I can answer this question, He loved someone like me. Still after many years, the depth of God’s love astonishes me. He reached me in a horrible place of isolation, pain, and abuse. He didn’t leave me there, He got me out.
Life hasn’t always been easy but I have the intimacy of God to sustain me. His love, grace, and truth have guided my life with no regrets. Only through Christ have I found the meaning of life-love. Nothing can transform someone’s life greatly except the power of knowing I am loved. As God searched for Adam and Eve, so He is looking for you. It’s time to stop hiding in your own guilt; it’s time to meet your mediator, Jesus Christ who can make you whole. Just call on His name, He will answer.
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