Community Buster
Scripture Reading — Genesis 3
“You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
—Genesis 2:17
God came looking for Adam and Eve. Their disobedience had changed things, and they were hiding. A loving trusting relationship was broken, and they saw God in a new way.
What happened in the courts of heaven? Did God change? No! He is the same yesterday and today and forever. Then what happened on earth? Well, Adam and Eve changed with the introduction of death: “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
What did death look like? Suddenly Adam and Eve were anxious and hid from God. Their security and peace were destroyed, and shame, fear, and brokenness entered in. Adam said, “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Their loving fellowship with God and each other was replaced with fear, isolation, and loneliness. They were no longer experiencing life abundantly.
Why were they afraid? The presence of God meant the presence of love, joy, and life, and sin exposed Adam and Eve’s misery and loss. This was unbearable in the presence of the Lord—and we have been hiding ever since.
But God, in his lovingkindness, is willing to enter into our darkness to bring restoration. So along with consequences for their sin, they also received God’s promise (verse 15), and he blessed them by making clothes for them.
Lord, our broken fellowship with you is painful. Thank you for not giving up on us and for covering our naked-ness. Amen.
About the author — John Kuperus
Since he was young, John Kuperus has had a passion that everyone would know Jesus. Spreading the good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) is very important to him. To be better equipped for missions, John attended Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He applied these skills with marketplace evangelism in a business he started in Sussex, New Jersey. This calling continued to follow him, so John attended seminary and became a minister in the Christian Reformed Church, serving a church in Ontario for eight years. Currently he serves as a missionary for Youth with a Mission (YWAM). He witnesses Jesus changing lives as people walk out of the darkness into the light. John is married to Helen, and they have seven children.
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