Eyes Tightly Shut
They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:8
He knew he shouldn’t have done it. I could clearly see he knew it was wrong: it was written all over his face! As I sat down to discuss his wrongdoing with him, my nephew quickly squeezed his eyes shut. There he sat, thinking—with three-year-old logic—that if he couldn’t see me, then I must not be able to see him. And if he was invisible to me, then he could avoid the conversation (and consequences) he anticipated.
I’m so glad I could see him in that moment. While I couldn’t condone his actions, and we needed to talk about it, I really didn’t want anything to come between us. I wanted him to look fully into my face and see how much I love him and was eager to forgive him! In that moment, I caught a glimmer of how God might have felt when Adam and Eve broke His trust in the garden of Eden. Realizing their guilt, they tried to hide from God (Genesis 3:10), who could “see” them as plainly as I could see my nephew.
When we realize we’ve done something wrong, we often want to avoid the consequences. We run from it, conceal it, or close our eyes to the truth. While God will hold us accountable to His righteous standard, He sees us (and seeks us!) because He loves us and offers forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
By Kirsten Holmberg
REFLECT & PRAY
God views us through eyes of love.
Father, thank You for seeing me and loving me even when I do wrong.
Your gift changes lives. Help us share God’s love with millions every day.
INSIGHT
As the book of beginnings, Genesis gives us our first look at how God responds to our sin with a just balance of mercy and consequence. Our Father’s ability to judge sin while loving the sinner shows up in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:14-21) and later when Cain kills his brother (4:8-16). We see it again and again in a pattern that leads through Sinai (Exodus 34:5-7), the songs of Israel (Psalm 99:8), and most completely in the crucifixion of Jesus (Luke 23:34). Mart DeHaan
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