Lenten Devotion – Evil Needs Company
~~Genesis 3:6-7
So when the woman saw 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, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
The Garden of Eden, the good ole' days, back when everything was perfect! We (humans) had to go and mess everything up! And that sent the world spiraling forever in the wrong direction. But that's not how it was supposed to be. We were created in God's image and were declared, of all that God created, VERY GOOD. Everything else was simply 'good.' We were different, we were created and given free will, and we were 'very good.' We, of all the birds in the air, fish in the sea and animals God worked on that week, we were created most like God. God breathed into us that first breath of life. Filled us with the very same wind used to blow across the vast nothingness that became everything. The same wind that later becomes the wind of the Holy Spirit. And we chose to mess that up. I can imagine God looking down at Adam and Eve and just shaking his head, and maybe sending that breath out in a heavy sigh, much like those of us who are parents will do when one of our children mess up. Maybe God knew this could happen…would happen. Maybe that's why God created humanity as a pair…so when we messed up and had to live outside of that perfection of Eden, we wouldn't be alone. We would have someone to help see us through all the difficulties which come from living life outside of Eden. So, fast-forward a few millennia and God looks down upon a world of hurt and oppression and sees that we need help. God comes to us in human form, not to overthrow an oppressive Roman rule, but to break through the bonds that sin and death hold over us. God knew, always knew, we could not do it alone. But just as we wait for our children to look up and say, "help me," God awaited that moment in time when we would give up our futile attempts to go it alone and look to God for deliverance. Why can't we seem to give up sooner? Maybe God asks that question too. Christ came into this world to reconcile the world to a God who created and loves us so much that we were given the freedom to choose. I'm sure God rejoices when we choose good over evil and grieves when we choose evil over the good…but still loves us enough to let us decide. When we've given up on trying to figure things out for ourselves, God is there waiting for us to call out and ask for help…and providing for our every need when we let go and let Him in.
Reverend Tracy Parker