The Word
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden…The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.’ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After He drove them out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
The Backdrop
Right about now, those who live in the North and Midwest embrace a favorite phrase: Spring is just around the corner. There is something hopeful and restorative about spring after a hard winter. No matter how hard the winter, spring comes. Restoration always happens.
The same is true with God. No matter how bad we’ve blown it, we can be restored. It’s always been this way. In fact, we see this at the very beginning of creation.
It had to have been a bad day for Adam and Eve when they left the Garden of Eden. The upside is they didn’t have much to pack. Imagine for a second how they must have felt. Think about how you’d feel if you did one thing that caused you to lose your friends, your home and everything that’s familiar, including a close relationship with God. Not to mention the fact that your action brought pain to others. There’s no way that’d be a good day.
The What
In
The So What
Now look back at the clouds you marked. Of all of God’s actions and words, do you see anything that might have comforted Adam and Eve or that shows a hint of God’s grace toward them? Write down what you observe.
Hopefully you noticed God made garments of skin (leather) and clothed Adam and Eve, replacing the breezy, fig-leaf clothes they had sewn for themselves. Think about that for a second. God had reason to be royally mad and colossally disappointed—and He was—but…
God always restores, no matter how bad we’ve blown it. Maybe you’ve made a decision or two that you know has put distance between you and God. Maybe a friend has made a bad decision. Take a minute to prayerfully read these passages from your Bible. As you read, let God make you a new garment and clothe you.
No matter where you live, during the next few weeks you’ll see some sign of spring, whether it’s melting snow, new flowers or for you warm-climate folks maybe the start of something new such as baseball. Make a commitment to use these signs of spring as reminders of the restoration that God can and wants to do in your life and in the lives of friends around you.
