Have you ever heard the excuse …
The devil made me do it
Maybe you’ve used it yourself?
If you have, you’ll know it doesn’t hold water. Because the truth is, no one can make us do something we don’t want to do.
This is both good and bad; the security it ensures is a positive, yet it leaves us a solo player in the blame game.
From cherished to cursed
Have you ever messed up? I mean really messed up? Messed up so badly it didn’t only affect you, but your family? And maybe others as well?
I believe that the shame born from these epic mistakes is one of the hardest things to come back from. You were warned. You had time to think. Yet you knowingly chose to do the wrong thing.
You crossed a line and there’s no going back.
Enter Eve. Her name means,
To give life
But for us Eve is a byword for cursed; the one who,
Gave life to sin
How did this happen?
I think it’s fair to say that most women like to chat. However, not all women are wise about who they chat with and what they chat about.
In Genesis 3 we read (paraphrase)
The crafty serpent said …
The woman replied …
We really don’t need to go any further than this to see where things went wrong.
Satan is a crafty adversary who engaged Eve in conversation. There is no biblical evidence for this, but I suspect this was not their first encounter. I wouldn’t be surprised if Satan had been grooming Eve for her downfall; gaining confidence and building familiarity prior to his fait accompli.
In answer to how this happened, there’s a very simple answer:
Eve replied
Cursed
Due to poor judgement, Eve was cursed and banished from the garden. God declared,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
Genesis 3:16
with painful labour you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
Consequently, women do not look favourably upon her, whilst others lay the blame for humanity’s downfall solely at her feet.
13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.
1 Timothy 2:13-14
How did she see herself?
Scripture tells us Eve felt naked; she reached out and grabbed the first thing that came to hand in an attempt to hide. I suspect she also felt overwhelmingly sick within an abyss of darkness drowning out all hope.
Well, that’s how I feel when realisation dawns on me after an epic mistake; that moment even before the consequences erupt, when realisation hits; “when your eyes are opened”.
Awareness transforms
When truth is unearthed, it enforces a new perspective. Of course, there is no way for us to know exactly how Eve saw herself. But prior to the fall, one would suspect she identified as a cherished child and beloved wife because of who she was in the eyes of those who loved her.
After the fall? Eve would have seen disappointment in her Father’s eyes, accusation in her husband’s, and victory in the eyes of the Enemy.
Still Cherished
Our God is just; from the beginning the consequence of breaking His law was death.
But our God is also love. Despite Eve’s failure, He remained constant. She was God’s cherished child. He loved her. Nothing changed that.
In accordance with God’s justice, Eve had to be evicted from the garden. But in accordance with God’s love, she wasn’t abandoned; He replaced her fragile fig leaves with hide and enabled her to have all she needed, albeit through hard work.
Times would be tough, and life would hurt, but Eve still had relationship with her Father.
And not only was she blessed with continued connection, she was gifted with purpose. We may not know exactly how Eve felt when her eyes were opened, but God did. Her actions resulted in fractured relationship between God and humanity, humankind, men and women, as well as humanity and creation.
But it was through Eve God was going to bring about restoration.
To the Adversary He said,
15 I will put enmity … between your offspring and hers;
Genesis 3:15
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Through Eve, the Saviour Redeemer would come.
So what?
The choice was hers.
Eve might have chosen to identify as cursed and/or a scapegoat.
Or she could’ve looked to her Father, the one whom she wronged, and allow His opinion to transform her identity to forgiven, cherished daughter.
Reflection:
- Have you ever messed up … significantly?
- How did it change your identity?
- How does God’s truth transform your awareness?
Thank you, Donita, for another wonderful insightful post. I really enjoy your easy-to-read writing style combined with deep, earthy biblical truth – which always has to be our foundation. So grateful for the reminder that even when we mess up – whether in big or small ways, our Father still loves us deeply and is most certainly in the business of forgiveness and redemption.
Thanks for commenting Lynne. I found it encouraging when studying Eve’s story to be reminded that nothing can separate us from the love of our Father. Even epic stuff ups.