"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden." - Genesis 3:6, 8
Have you ever been tempted by the promise of something that seemed too good to be true, only to be disappointed when the thing you were placing your hope in failed to deliver? "Invest with us and get rich quick!" "Shed pounds instantly on our miracle diet pill!" "Try this new anti-aging cream and look 10 years younger!"
Advertising is rampant with these kinds of slogans designed to do one thing: deceive you and lure you in. We find ourselves caught up in thinking we can fix our problems instantly with no extra effort, and maybe even make ourselves a little smarter, more attractive, and wealthier while we’re at it! What we may not realize is we are quite literally falling for the oldest trick in the book.
Imagine yourself in a beautiful, lush garden overflowing with all kinds of delicious fruit, free for the taking! There are so many varieties to choose from, you think you may never be able to try them all! Your every need is met; you are content, peaceful, happy. Your mouth waters as you reach out to pluck a nearby peach, when you hear a voice.
"Psst! Over here!" it hisses from a tree in the midst of the garden. "You want some fruit? I've got some fruit here that will change your life! It's a 'miracle' fruit, see. It can solve all your problems! And best of all, it will make you a god..."
We battle this temptation every single day, just as Adam and Eve did on that fateful day in Eden. We are faced with the decision of whether we will humbly acknowledge our need for God, or give in to the appeal of pride and the deception that we can meet those needs outside of him.
There are countless self-help books we can read, dozens of medications to take, and a whole host of expensive products to buy, decadent food and drink to indulge in, and exotic places to visit that help us believe and maintain the illusion that "everything is fine". But the reality is we are cowering fearfully behind the trees, frantically trying to cover up our problems and foolishly thinking a few fig leaves will do the trick!
Like Adam and Eve, we run from God. We hide from him. We play the blame game and focus on the externals, when all the while the real problem lies within. Sin is what separates us from God, from each other, and alienates us even from ourselves. It is the source of all of our conflicts, disunity, and insecurity. Sin is our common problem.
So how do we stop sinning? How do we move from merely covering over unhealthy behaviors with socially acceptable ones, to being deeply changed from the inside-out? How do we receive the healing power that only comes from Christ?
First, we must acknowledge our need for Jesus by stepping out of the shadows and into his presence. Maybe you're unaware of your need right now. A good prayer to pray might be, "Lord, show me where in my life I may be hiding from you, and help me recognize my sin."
We must then come before him—baring our souls—and honestly confess our sin. "Jesus, I know this area of my life is not lined up with your will. Forgive me. Please help me realign it by changing my heart." The important thing to remember is we cannot do this on our own! It is not our willpower that saves us, but our willingness coupled with God's power.
When we are willing to expose the lie, God can replace it with his truth. He lovingly covers over our sins with Christ's righteousness. He restores our relationship to himself and repairs our rifts so that we may grow in Christlikeness, and continue on in the pursuit of becoming whole!
Reflection Questions
- Read Luke 18:9-14. What would it look like to humble yourself before God today, and acknowledge your sin to him?
- Overcoming sin patterns in our lives can be a struggle. Paul wrote in Romans 7, "For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." Ask God to help you recognize your sin. A practical prayer to pray might be, "Lord, alert me when I am drifting toward sin. Give me some sort of mental warning, a little red flag, so that I may be on my guard and turn to you in moments of temptation."