Figs or Skins?

How about an animal skin for the new year?  I’m not big on New Years Resolutions, but I do like to take the end of each year and evaluate where I am at, what I need to change or start doing, and make some goals for the coming year.   One of my goals for this year is to read through the Bible again.  

Being day number 1, I started off with the first three chapters of Genesis.  You are probably already aware that those chapters deal with the creation of the world and everything in it.  How appropriate that on the first day of the new year, I read of the first day ever!  I read of the creation account, including man and woman.  Of course, you are probably also aware that the first 3 chapters include what we call “The Fall of Man”, or the first sin.  

Eve, seeing  “...that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise...” took its fruit and ate and gave some to her husband who also ate.  Immediately their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked.  To remedy this problem they took fig leaves and sewed them together to cover themselves.  

Later, when Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord in the garden they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord.  As a side-note here, it’s probably not wise to play hide and seek with the God who created the universe.. I’m pretty sure He’s going to win that one every time.  Anyhow, back to the story.  Adam and Eve are hiding and surprise surprise, God finds them.  (told you so).  They admit their sin and Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the serpent.  God, being the Holy God that He is, has to deal with the serpent, Eve and Adam.  They are punished and their sin nature is passed on for all generations to come.  (Romans 5:12)  

But wait, there is a glimmer of hope in all of this.  After the Lord pronounces their punishment we read in  Genesis 3:21 that “...the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”  Remember what they were wearing?

After their sin Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together.  After God judged their sin, He gave them animal skins.  What a phenomenally merciful and gracious God we have!  He can give us so much better than we can do for ourselves... even after we sin!  Were there consequences for their sin?  Yes, they certainly were punished for their sin.  But their sin was not a dead end!  It was not the end of the relationship!  All hope was not gone!  

So here we are at the beginning of a new year.  As you look back over the past year your memory may be filled with unwise choices and bad decisions.  Some of those choices and decisions may still have repercussions that will reverberate well into the new year.  But know this, your Creator can do so much more for you, than you can do for yourself.  Will He judge your sin?  Absolutely.  If you have a repentant spirit will He write you off?  Will He terminate your relationship?  No way, he longs to be gracious to you! (Exodus 34:6; 2 Chronicles 16:9; 30:9)

A new year is upon us.  An ageless God longs to extend His Grace into this year and the years to come!  Stop trying to cover the past, let the grace of God take you into the future!

-dp