Fully Devoted: The Fallनमूना

A Divided Relationship With Others Because of our rebellion against God and the introduction of sin, the vulnerability and intimacy that once defined human relationships has been shattered. Now, our relationships are plagued by shame, insecurity, mistrust, and bitterness. The harmony that used to be no longer exists. Our relationships with ourselves, others, and God have been ravaged by the destructive nature of sin. Shortly after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the man and woman realized they were naked, and in addition to covering themselves, they hid from God. > But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Genesis 3:9-10 NIV Sin separates us from others. Because we have a distorted view of ourselves, we run away from God. And because of our distorted view of others, we tend to push them away, too. > And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Genesis 3:11-12 NIV The man’s first response is to avoid responsibility and blame the woman. How often do we react the same way? Instead of accepting responsibility for our choices, we cast blame on others. For many of us, it feels safer to say, “I’m not responsible.” Admitting we’re responsible might lead us to the unsettling conclusion that sometimes, we actually are irresponsible. That conclusion would feed the shame we’re trying so hard to cover up. So instead, we look for anyone else to blame. The woman’s response to being blamed by the man is to continue passing the blame: > Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:13 NIV God responds by proceeding to lay out the consequences each of them must bear because of the decisions they made. The serpent is held accountable for deceiving the woman. The woman is held accountable for choosing to give into the temptation instead of staying faithful to God. And the man is held accountable because he not only stood there and watched this happen, but joined in, too. Before this moment, the man and the woman were completely united. Their relationship was defined by self-giving love and complete trust. But then, almost immediately after being infected by this disease of self-centeredness, they turned on each other, breaking the trust they once had. The love they had shared was lost. But as people who have now been freed from the bondage of sin, we’ve been given the power to move past its damaging effects and love others the same way that Jesus loves us. In fact, we’ve been called to live humbly and compassionately in community with others. Instead of sin and shame defining our relationships, we can be characterized by grace and hope. Sin separates us from God and from others, but grace brings us back together. Journaling Questions * Write down one of today’s verses in your journal. How does it relate to God’s relationship with humanity? * Are there any broken relationships in your life that you can take a step toward restoring? * What would it look like to own up to your part of the problem in this relationship? Memory Verse > For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NIV