In the previous programme, I have shared that we are created in the image of God. Therefore, our lives are very precious and unique. It is good that our lives can reflect the image of God.

When we have peace with God, we would have peace with other people and things. God wants us to use the wisdom, abilities and reasoning powers that He has endowed us with, to have dominion over other living creatures. However, the Bible tells us clearly that men had fallen and had chosen the wrong way – they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Love with the freedom to choose is of worth

God has given humans a freedom to choose; they cannot do without freedom. If God has created mankind but had not given him the freedom to choose, it is inevitable that he has to follow God. Such a way to follow God is of no value. Love has to be expressed with the freedom of choice. Then, it would be of value. I asked my wife, “Why do you love me? Why do you marry me?” Her answer is, “If I don’t marry you, whom shall I marry?” When I heard this, I was very sad. Don’t you think so? Love has to be expressed with the freedom of choice. Then, love would be of value. In the same way, God asked Adam and Eve, “Why do you follow me?” If Adam and Eve replied, “If we don’t follow you, whom do we follow?” It would be meaningless.

In other words, God wants mankind to have a freedom of choice. Therefore, He had placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden for man to make a choice – would you choose the tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Would you choose the devil or God? Men had displayed how sincere they were towards God via their choice. It is a pity that men had sinned! A sinful man will be separated from God and he would feel shameful. In Genesis 3: 8 -10 from the Bible, “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.” God asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

Relationship of man with God after the fall

Men had sinned. They hid themselves from God because they felt shameful. They had no peace in their conscience. As a result, they used fig leaves to make loincloths to cover their ugliness (in the original Hebrew, loincloth is a cloth for the waist). Then, they hid themselves among the trees in the garden and avoided God. From this description, there was a gulf in the relationship between God and men because of their sin. Thus, the relationship was broken. The humans not only did not dare to face their sins but they also used various ways to beautify themselves and attempted to escape from the face of God.

They hid behind the trees. This shows how humans use their own ways to cover their wrong deeds and deny God. It includes using their reasoning abilities to deny the existence of God – that is, using various ways and arguments to show that God does not exist. In other words, Adam was probably the first atheist in the human history because he thought that by hiding behind the trees, “God cannot see me and I cannot see God. Thus, God does not exist.” Is it so? God cannot see you? And is this God who cannot see you really a God? It is true that you cannot see God. Why? There was a gulf between God and man.

It is a pity that some people use religion, culture and good works to replace their need for sincere repentance. The humans have sinned and hidden themselves. They think that they can resolve the issue and be saved by setting free a few turtles and birds or by not taking lives or by praying that their sins be forgiven. All these are not the right ways. What is the result? The relationship between God and man will drift further apart!

God’s call of love

After the fall of man, how did God treat mankind? According to Genesis 3:8 -11 from the Bible, we saw another picture – men had fallen and were separated from God, but God came to search for men and called out to them, “Where are you?” In fact, it was not that God did not know where the men were. Men need to remind themselves of their fallen state or condition. Just like after a child had done something wrong, his parents will ask him: “Child, what have you done?” It was not that the parents did not know the wrong doing that their child had committed.  Instead, they wanted their child to know clearly what he had done wrong. It is not that God does not know you even if He may ask you, “Where are you?” You should know your own condition. Are you in a fallen state? You should repent! Therefore, God’s call is the calling of love; He wants us to return to Him as soon as we can.

It is not the good works of the humans. It is the grace of God

In addition, the Bible tells us that God not only called us, but He, just like a loving father, also made garments of skins for us to wear. In the original Hebrew, these garments were long garments that could cover the shame of the human bodies completely. Taken from Genesis 3:21 in the Bible, “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” Only garments that were made of animal skins could last! These garments were not like the loincloths that were made of fig leaves. Such loincloths could not withstand exposure to the wind, sun and rain. In other words, man needs the righteousness of God, not the righteousness nor the good works of man. It is the grace of God.

The righteousness of God is true, good, beautiful and holy. Humans cannot attain such righteousness themselves. The fig leaves that the humans used could not reach God’s standard of righteousness. The righteousness and goodness which our good works produce cannot withstand the test of time. On the contrary, God made garments of skins for men to wear. This is true righteousness. This verse also showed that the righteousness of God requires the shedding of blood for its fulfilment–animals shed blood when they were killed. Then, their skins were used to make the garments. After that, the Bible tells us clearly the commandment of God: without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:22 and Leviticus 17:11 tell us clearly this important truth.

All because of God’s love for us that there was shedding of blood. However, according to Genesis 3: 22-24 from the Bible, why did God drive man out from the garden of Eden? God had saved men and gave them garments made of skins. But He wanted them to leave the garden of Eden. Why? It is because of the curse, as a result of sin, is in this world. God is reluctant to let man live under the curse for eternity as a result of sin so He wanted man to leave the garden of Eden. It means that “Adam cannot return to eat the fruit from the tree of life, otherwise he will live forever.” You can imagine, if a sinner lives forever like Hitler, this world will be a scary place. It will be another catastrophe!

In the same way, our lives are filled with pain as a result of sins. If we live forever, this world and our lives may not be good and beautiful. On the contrary, being driven out of the garden of Eden tells us that there is an end to life. And we need to treasure our life before its end. Isn’t it another kind of blessing? This is also another form of God’s love for the sinners.

Reflections

May I ask you: At this moment, how is your relationship with God? Do you clearly know that you are far away from God? Are you alienated in your relationship with God? You can’t experience God, isn’t it? The curse as a result of sin has to be washed away by the precious blood of Jesus. By doing so, we can have peace with God and build a harmonious relationship with Him. We can experience His love once again and have lives that reflect the beautiful image of God. As a result, our lives will be meaningful, worthy of living and filled with indescribable joy. Our lives are meaningful!

Let us pray together.

Dear Heavenly Father, we are very thankful that you have used your precious blood to cover our sins in Lord Jesus Christ. You have once again restored new lives unto us. We have peace with God and can have lives that reflect the beautiful image of God. Therefore, our lives are enriching, meaningful and have a purpose. Our lives are not the same again. Today, let us return to you. We confess that we are sinners. We need you to enter our lives, restore us and give us eternal lives. Thus, our lives will be of value and have eternal purpose. We pray this in the holy name of Jesus. Amen!

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