Coronavirus, economic recession, race protests and riots. Little wonder that months of this have left us divided and disconnected from one another as never before. We fear one another. We fight one another
Can we ever get back to the United States of America?
We need to understand the problem before we can fix it. To do that, we need to go back to where the problems all began. This didn’t start in China. This didn’t start with George Floyd. This didn’t start with President Trump’s election. The division and disconnect started about 6,000 years ago in the Garden of Eden. The fear and fighting began in paradise in Genesis 3:8-13. Because, it was in the paradise of Eden that sin began.
We need to understand what happened there and then, if we want to understand here and now. The good news is that by identifying the problem we can then begin to address it and solve it
SIN DIVIDES AND SEPARATES FROM GOD
Genesis 1-2 paints an idyllic scene of connection to and communion with God. But there’s a dramatic change of scene in Genesis 3.
- God is looking for Adam and Eve: “But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (9)
- Adam and Eve are running from God: And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” (10)
What a change in their relationship with God. From connection and communion with God to disconnect and division. Most analysts and commentators don’t think our relationship with God, or lack of it, is much of a problem. But it’s THE problem. It’s the fundamental and foundational problem.
But the good news is that God is still looking for us. He’s still asking, “Where are you?” We may be satisfied without God, but God isn’t satisfied without us. Through the Gospel, he runs after us, pursuing us with mercy, calling us to connect and commune with him.
We are running from God in fear, but God is running after us in love.
But how’s that connected with our current problems, our society’s division and disconnect? Look at how sin disrupts not only our relationship with God but with one another.
SIN DIVIDES AND SEPARATES US FROM ONE ANOTHER
Adam and Eve had the perfect marriage. Naked and unashamed. Perfect harmony and love. Never a bad word, never a bad argument, never a bad thought about one another. Not any more.
- Adam and Eve were hiding from one another: Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths (7).
- Adam and Eve were fighting one another: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate” (12)
Do you see how disruptive and divisive sin is? This is THE problem.
The problem is not police brutality, it’s human depravity.
Tomorrow we’ll focus on God’s solution, the Gospel of Christ. But until then, I want to leave you with the good news that through the Gospel, God can remove hiding and fighting from our hearts.
If Christ can fix the disconnect between us and God, he can fix the disconnect between us and others. If we get right with God through Christ, we can get right with one another through Christ.
Sin divides and disconnects from God and others, but the Gospel unites and connects with God and others.
This episode of Living the Bible lines up with Expedition 2: Day 3 in Exploring the Bible Together: A 52 Week Family Worship Plan and Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids. You can catch up with previous episodes of the Living the Bible podcast here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcast.