Why do we feel uncomfortable when somebody on the subway or the elevator looks at us? It is because we feel ashamed of something about us. When we were children our parents told us not to stare at others in respect to them. Is it because we don't want the others to feel uncomfortable?
When Adam and Eve sinned they ran and hid when they heard God walking in the garden. One day I had my parents over for a barbecue and my daughter was indoors playing. As I called her to come eat she said that she wasn't hungry and went back inside to continue playing (or so I supposed). Later, I went inside to persuade her to come to eat. Both my wife and I looked around calling her. As you know parent's voices get louder and impatient quickly. After the third time calling her name I heard crying behind the pantry door. There she was, mouth full of black licorice, the licorice I stored way up on the top shelf where I thought she wouldn't be able to reach, crying out of shame and fear. I could tell that she knew right away what she had done was wrong but she made the choice to do it anyway. See, the first impulse of the "innocent child" is to hide in shame. We have the knowledge to know what we are told not to do, and out of guilt, and disgrace to the one we are to honour, we run and hide.
My uncle raised the question to me once, "Why did God put that tree in the middle of the garden, knowing that they were going to pick it?" The question supposes that God is the one to blame for making us sin in the first place. If we were to compare with parenting we could get a relative understanding of God's implications for the tree and there is a lesson to be learned. Well there is a lesson to be learned. If you were to look at God like a Father figure then it would be better understood. Now, let's compare with an earthly father first. I, for instance. My wife bought me my favourite candy. (Yes, I have a sweet tooth!) She bought a bag full from the Bulk Barn, and I had kept it stored up high in the pantry so that my daughter couldn't reach it. But as you have just learned, she could not resist the temptation! God did not put the tree there to tempt Eve. He did not just send Satan to tempt them into sin so that He could set up a world to worship Him out of shame (as Catholics and many religions do). The tree was there to show them who was the authority. And Adam chose to be His own man, His own master. Satan was there to test man.
God wanted to create something that He could love and have communion with. Love does not come in bondage and mind-control. God created something that could think. But this something was not just some thing, it is someone. Capable of choosing. Like a father, God's love for us means that He wants us. He is jealous for us just like I am jealous for my daughter's love. I would be so furious if someone tried to turn her against me and twist her mind to run to a life of destruction. God wants us to know His will is best. It is not possible without having the capability of choosing Him. But why? Well, I cannot tell you why He chose to do it this way, but I can say it is the most logical. And it explains why the world is the way it is. God's word explains reality best.
Shame is God's warning system. When we feel ashamed about sin, the Holy Spirit directs us to God. Our first impulse is to deny, deny, deny. But if we are born-again, we turn to God for forgiveness. But if you have not put your faith in the work Jesus did on the Cross for you then the shame you feel should move you to run to the Father for reconciliation. That means stop trying to make excuses for your guilt and stop trying to make sense of the world by your own understanding. I'm not saying abandon all reason and skepticism. Be skeptical about the things you've been taught and what you think you know and put God's word to investigation. After all, He has endowed you with the gift of life.
When Adam and Eve sinned they ran and hid when they heard God walking in the garden. One day I had my parents over for a barbecue and my daughter was indoors playing. As I called her to come eat she said that she wasn't hungry and went back inside to continue playing (or so I supposed). Later, I went inside to persuade her to come to eat. Both my wife and I looked around calling her. As you know parent's voices get louder and impatient quickly. After the third time calling her name I heard crying behind the pantry door. There she was, mouth full of black licorice, the licorice I stored way up on the top shelf where I thought she wouldn't be able to reach, crying out of shame and fear. I could tell that she knew right away what she had done was wrong but she made the choice to do it anyway. See, the first impulse of the "innocent child" is to hide in shame. We have the knowledge to know what we are told not to do, and out of guilt, and disgrace to the one we are to honour, we run and hide.
My uncle raised the question to me once, "Why did God put that tree in the middle of the garden, knowing that they were going to pick it?" The question supposes that God is the one to blame for making us sin in the first place. If we were to compare with parenting we could get a relative understanding of God's implications for the tree and there is a lesson to be learned. Well there is a lesson to be learned. If you were to look at God like a Father figure then it would be better understood. Now, let's compare with an earthly father first. I, for instance. My wife bought me my favourite candy. (Yes, I have a sweet tooth!) She bought a bag full from the Bulk Barn, and I had kept it stored up high in the pantry so that my daughter couldn't reach it. But as you have just learned, she could not resist the temptation! God did not put the tree there to tempt Eve. He did not just send Satan to tempt them into sin so that He could set up a world to worship Him out of shame (as Catholics and many religions do). The tree was there to show them who was the authority. And Adam chose to be His own man, His own master. Satan was there to test man.
God wanted to create something that He could love and have communion with. Love does not come in bondage and mind-control. God created something that could think. But this something was not just some thing, it is someone. Capable of choosing. Like a father, God's love for us means that He wants us. He is jealous for us just like I am jealous for my daughter's love. I would be so furious if someone tried to turn her against me and twist her mind to run to a life of destruction. God wants us to know His will is best. It is not possible without having the capability of choosing Him. But why? Well, I cannot tell you why He chose to do it this way, but I can say it is the most logical. And it explains why the world is the way it is. God's word explains reality best.
Shame is God's warning system. When we feel ashamed about sin, the Holy Spirit directs us to God. Our first impulse is to deny, deny, deny. But if we are born-again, we turn to God for forgiveness. But if you have not put your faith in the work Jesus did on the Cross for you then the shame you feel should move you to run to the Father for reconciliation. That means stop trying to make excuses for your guilt and stop trying to make sense of the world by your own understanding. I'm not saying abandon all reason and skepticism. Be skeptical about the things you've been taught and what you think you know and put God's word to investigation. After all, He has endowed you with the gift of life.
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