15. WHEN ADAM AND EVE DISOBEYED, WHAT CHANGED WAS THEIR IMAGE OF THEMSELVES.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
WHAT ARE SOME RELATIONSHIPS OR SITUATIONS THAT CAUSE YOU TO WANT TO HIDE?
WHEN YOU HIDE, DO YOU SENSE YOU ARE ALSO HIDING FROM GOD?
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE IDEA THAT GOD ALWAYS COMES LOOKING FOR YOU WHEN YOU ARE HIDING?
DO YOU WANT GOD TO FIND YOU WHEN YOU ARE HIDING?
WHAT WOULD YOU ASK JESUS FOR WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE HIDING?
Humans have a long history of struggling to believe and behave as though it's actually true that God affirms, favors, and even likes us. It may be that Scripture even points to this tendency to devalue ourselves and as part of humanity's "default disease." Consider the story of Creation. God created the universe and a garden for him to share with Adam and Eve. God honors humanity by allowing them to give names and identities to the animals he has created. By doing so, God treats mankind with respect and trust.
We can see that God has an image of man that is worthy and gifted. But then Adam and Eve break trust with God. They disobey the one guideline God had given them, and what happens? Adam and Eve feel shame and they hide. Interestingly, nothing seems to have changed with God. He still comes looking for them for their daily meeting in the garden. He calls for them and gently invites them to explain what happened and why they were hiding. It's true that God does give them consequences for their actions, including their forced eviction from the garden. But it seems that God’s presence goes with them from the garden. He continues to work to relate to them as he did at first.
It's not that Adam and Eve's actions did not have negative consequences for them—they did. But perhaps the most damaging result was their loss of their sense of value and worth. It wasn't that God's view of humanity changed because of the fall. Rather, the greatest loss seems to have happened as Adam and Eve chose to believe the lies of the Deceiver. And to this day, humankind continues believing that we are unworthy of God's love. We continue to believe the lie that our value is only in our actions. We are stuck in the idea that we have failed and lost the gift of God's favor.
What changed when Adam and Eve sinned was not what God thought of them, but what they thought of themselves. This is the brokenness that continues to be passed on. And in doing this, we continue to give victory to the Deceiver.