Forgive. Live. Love.

They knew. Instantly. Mistakes were made. But what now? Dang it!

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they knew that they had done something terribly wrong. They acted on their shame and hid from their Creator. But God already knew the truth. He’d seen the whole thing. God then calls the couple out on their fatal error. Instead of stepping up and taking responsibility, Adam passes the blame to his wife. Then, as if blaming his wife wasn’t enough, he takes it a step further by blaming God for giving him this wayward women. Adam fails to acknowledge that he was with Eve when she sinned. He could have not only denied the fruit offered to him, but could have stopped Eve from eating it as well.

Condemning Adam shouldn’t be our response though. It’s easy to look down on the first couple and criticize their lame decision. But who are we to judge? We are just as human as they were which makes us no better. Our natural response to sin is the same: eat the fruit, feel ashamed, hide, pass the blame. When we’re caught in our sin, how often is our first response to shove the blame on something else? Anything to take the pressure off ourselves. We use other people, our circumstances, and even God Himself as our scapegoat to cover up our blunders. Yet, we’re not fooling anyone. God’s not stupid or clueless; He knows the whole truth.

Sin results in suffering. But God never leaves us to suffer in our sin. Through Christ there is reconciliation and restoration. A second chance. Hope. This doesn’t mean that the consequences of our sins will just disappear though. We should learn from the aftermath of our disobedience. Negative consequences from a situation should be a reminder to not make that mistake again.

Adam and Eve’s sin affected more people than just them. Obviously. We’re wearing clothes, among other consequences... Our sins do the same. I’ve hurt many people because of my selfish actions. And I’ve been hurt by the selfish actions of others.

Forgiveness may mean a broken relationship is restored, but not always to the level it was at before. Broken trust it tricky to fix. You can’t mend a vow when it breaks. You can’t un-break a promise once it’s broken. Forgiveness doesn’t eliminate consequences, but it is a sign that the consequences have been acknowledged. We can choose our actions, but we’re not typically in control of the consequences that follow.

I wonder if people reminded Adam and Eve of their mistake. I’m often tempted to throw a person’s sin in their face if they’re pointing something out in my life. As if to remind them that they’re no better than I am and to shift the negative attention off of me. But what is that doing other than bring up more hurt. Bringing up past offenses in anger to distract from what’s on hand is wrong. Reacting in anger is sin.

I’ve had a few different general conversations about a specific sin and here’s my conclusion: Forgive. Live. Love.

Accept that nobody’s perfect. Don’t ignore or belittle sin. Genuinely forgive. Know that they’ll be consequences and sometimes reoccurring ones. Don’t give up on LOVE.

Yes, consequences hurt. Yes, the consequences will occasionally reappear and sting a little. But, yes, I still love this person.

You are more than the choices that you’ve made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You’ve been remade.

You’ve been remade.