The Fall

This Saturday we looked at Genesis 2 and 3.
We looked at how relationships are built on trust. Trust in relationships requires boundaries and limits. In a way relationships have prohibitions. Prohibitions in relationships become life giving, because they allow trust to form.

God put himself on the line and made Himself vulnerable because He longed for a genuine relationship. God invited man to participate in His creation. God also placed a tree in the garden Genesis 2:15-16. Humans were not allowed to eat from the tree. The point of the tree wasn't to be a test for humans, rather a life-giving prohibition. The life-giving prohibition allowed trust and a real relationship with God.

Eden wasn't so much about a perfect place for comfort, but for community. The garden was a place of unity between God, woman and man. Adam and Eve were able to be naked, open and raw before each other and feel no shame. Genesis 2:25

But we broke trust. We disobeyed the life-giving prohibition. And out of fear we hid behind trees when God came to us. We put up fig leaves between each other. Broken trust and fear led us to put up walls between each other and God.

But God didn't leave us hiding behind trees. God pushed us out of the garden. He clothed us in a way we couldn't on our own. His grace went before, and His grace continued. This God of creation, that put Himself on the line, that was in pursuit of a genuine relationship continued His relentless pursuit.

This is our hope: The story goes on. God does not give up. God always makes the first move, always takes the first step. How is God calling us to move out from behind the trees? In what ways is God calling us to reconcile our broken relationships?