Have you ever want to hide your sin? Have you ever shrunk back in shame? And have you ever wondered what God thinks of your sin and shame? In this story from Genesis 3, we see Adam and Eve cowering, and we see God covering. Yet, because they were guilty of sin, God drove them from his presence in the Garden.
As we look at this heartbreaking story of two people who had everything and lost it all, we’ll get a glimpse of hope for how to return.
I’m delighted to have Kim Cash Tate with me. Kim is a Bible teacher, and author of many books, including Cling.
Guest: Kim Cash Tate
Bible Passage: Genesis 3:21-24
Get your Freebie: The Live Like It’s True Workbook
Recommended Resources: Amazon Storefront for the Genesis Series
Mentioned Resources:
Music: Cade Popkin Music
Producer: Maria Lyons
Our Guest: Kim Cash Tate
If You’re Burdened With Shame
In this episode, we explore the idea of shame over our sin, but it’s important to remember that God has never stopped wanting to be near us. It’s just not possible. In the same way that we couldn’t last two minutes in outer space without a space suit, we can’t be near God in the state we’re in. Yet—again—please note that this doesn’t mean God doesn’t want to be near us.
Do you imagine disgust on God’s face when he looks at you? In our shame over sin, that’s often what we imagine. But if that’s true, the rest of the Bible makes no sense. Why would God send his one and only Son to die in the place of people who disgusted Him? John 3:17 says that God sent his Son, not to condemn the world, but to save the world.
Shame is appropriate. We were designed to be God’s crowning glory, and our sin has cost us everything. But the next time you feel shame, consider Christmas. Consider God’s love in sending His Son Jesus. Consider how much God was willing to give, and how much Jesus was willing to pay—all out of love for you, and as a plan to get you back.
Sin is awful. Everything painful and broken in this world has its roots in sin. But even though our sin made it impossible for us to be close to God or have a relationship with him, that doesn’t mean God doesn’t want these things. The whole story of the Bible is his plan for us to be forgiven of sin, and to close the distance between us and Him.
God loves us. And here’s how He demonstrated that love: While we were yet sinners—hiding in shame, Jesus died for us. Rom. 5:8
If you have questions about your sin and shame, and God’s plan to forgive you and get you back, I’d love to chat more.
The Consequence of Control
Here’s an excerpt from my book, Control Girl, which I referred to in this episode with Kim Cash Tate:
This distinction between good and evil is kept safe only when it is kept from us. God intended to be the keeper of this distinction forever. So he tucked the knowledge of good and evil into leafy branches of a tree, and guarded it with his one and only rule. When Eve bit into that fruit, yes, her eyes were opened. She suddenly saw something she hadn’t, but her eyes weren’t designed to see it. It was like looking into a solar eclipse. Her eyesight was ruined.
With her feminine little hand, Eve ushered mankind into the era the Bible describes as “this present darkness” (Eph. 6:12). Evil began to look good to us, and good looked evil. The distinctions between the two became warped by our darkened understanding (Eph. 4:18).
New Rules
By breaking God’s one and only rule, Adam and Eve made new rules necessary. Hundreds of them. God provided his Law (including the Ten Commandments) as a corrective lens, to help us see good and evil the way he does. However, the Law can’t fix our eyesight. It merely points out how dim our perspective is and how evil our hearts have become.
The Law shows us our need for Jesus, the Light of the World. Jesus came that we might turn from darkness to light (Acts 26:18). Turning to Jesus is the exact reversal of Eve’s story in the garden. When we follow Eve’s example, we become Control Girls; when we follow Jesus’s example and say as he did, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42), we become Jesus Girls. Just like Eve, we have a choice: Control Girl or Jesus Girl.
- A Control Girl detaches from God.
- A Jesus Girl relies on him.
- A Control Girl breaks God’s rules.
- A Jesus Girl embraces the Bible’s instructions.
- A Control Girl trusts her own perspective.
- A Jesus Girl defers to God’s viewpoint.
{Learn more at ControlGirl.com}
Control Girls don’t like restrictions. They want to be in control and decide for themselves what is right and wrong. But women who are sweetly surrendered to God let him decide. They live day by day brushing up against all sorts of appealing—but destructive—options. Rather than reaching for the forbidden things, they trust God when he says something is harmful. Control Girls and Jesus Girls are set apart by their perspectives on right and wrong.
Who gets to decide? A Control Girl trusts her own viewpoint; a Jesus Girl defers to God’s. She believes that God’s restrictions lead to a lush, satisfying life, not a life of deprivation.
