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I’m making my way through Genesis and looking for new things – there’s so much! But this just grabbed
me. When God told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He said, “For
WHEN you eat it you will certainly die.”

When the woman repeats God’s words to the serpent, (I’m guessing that Adam told her) she says, “…but
God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not
touch it or you will die.’”

Satan basically taunted God by telling the woman, “you will not certainly die, for God knows that WHEN
you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Focus on the word ‘WHEN.’ Only two used it. My thought is that God knows our human character and
weaknesses, but so did satan. Let that open your eyes! The only ones that didn’t see what was coming
were Adam and Eve.

When the first couple had broken the rules, their sin left them vulnerable and naked. Stepping out of
God’s Will is like falling off of a cliff. It leaves us bruised. When I know that I’ve done something wrong,
I hate the way it makes me feel…so exposed – like the whole world can see what I’ve done. There’s no
fig leaf big enough to cover my guilt. But God covers us with His Grace and Love and makes us right
again. Which leads me to the next big thing…

Even when Adam and Eve were naked and ashamed, God called out to them. They were hiding, too
ashamed for Him to look at them, and yet, He came and found THEM. God will ALWAYS call out to you.
He ALWAYS finds us. He ALWAYS sees us as we are and He ALWAYS loves us. When Father saw that the
children had gone astray and found themselves with no clothes on, He disciplined them as a loving
father does. But then, in the middle of His perfect garden, He offered something amazing. Our Lord
covered Adam and Eve with animal skin. And for the first time there was bloodshed from a perfect
animal in this beautiful place so that the sins of two imperfect people could be covered. Sound
familiar?

“When we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” We were so full of sin and shame – and we still are – so
God, once again, found the only unblemished Lamb and shed His blood to cover our sin. There was
nothing or no one perfect and clean, but His only Son, Jesus. And He calls out to us still. He seeks us still.
He will find us still. And He will cover us, the imperfect, with the blood of the perfect.

God gives us laws (rules, commandments) to hold us up and protect us, not to keep us from something
good, but to lead us to something good. He doesn’t want harm to come to us but only good things. He
sees ahead and knows what’s coming long before we do. And…He knows us more than we know
ourselves.

Trusting our Father is a no-brainer! Listening to Him and for Him gets easier the more we do it. But
even when we mess up and disobey and find ourselves feeling naked and afraid; He gently lifts us up
and clothes us with His unfailing love. He gathers His children with the Love of His Son.
Try that fig leaf on today and Be Blessed!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future, then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen
to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11