The First Clothes

The current series at church is on the first chapters of Genesis. Last weekend's sermon was on The Fall. The pastor reads & explains the results- the snake is cursed and must crawl along his belly. Eve, whose stated purpose was to bear children and be a helpmeet to her husband, has her purpose made more difficult: childbearing will be painful and her relationship with her husband is broken, "The Hebrew here literally says, 'You’ll want to control Adam… and he will work to rule over you.'" Likewise, Adam's purpose is made more difficult: "Adam’s primary task in the world was to nurture the creation as a benevolent care giver; but now the creation, the very thing that God had so carefully created for Adam, was cursed and would work against him."

The pastor continues:

But look at what happens next. “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” God, himself, sacrifices one of his own creatures to cover Adam and Eve’s shame. This is a remarkable moment, really. And it reminds us of what God will do again in willingly sacrificing his own son to cover our shame.

Adam & Eve tried to cover up themselves, with fig leaves. God stepped in to take away their shame. He killed his own creation to do it, to clothe them. He sewed their garments.

How often do I sin and scramble to recover, trying to hide my shame with even more deception? How often do I put forth a beautiful facade of fig leaves to hide what's really happening? Too often, and it is not enough. I need to be naked & real before God, and let his sacrifice clothe me, taking away my sin & shame, and making clothing more beautiful than anything I could do with fig leaves.