GOD'S UNCHANGING LOVE

After God clothed Adam and Eve with animal skins, Genesis 3:22-24 says, "Then the Lord God said, 'Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!' So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they became like God in a sense that they knew both good and evil. It means that good and evil became a part of their lives. Both of them were now susceptible to sin and its consequences. Before the fall, they used to have an unblemished and uncorrupted nature. Sin didn't exist in them. Everything that they did was acceptable to God until they ate the forbidden fruit. Now, their uncorrupted nature became corrupt with sin. 

God knew that if Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of life in their sinful condition, their sinful condition would remain forever. There would be no chance for them to be saved from sin and its consequences. As a result, God banished them from the Garden of Eden to take care of the land and put mighty cherubim (angels) with a flaming sword to the east of the garden to ensure that Adam and Eve could not return. By God banishing them from the Garden of Eden, God's saving plan began its work in saving the human race from sin and its consequences. God did not reject Adam and Eve despite their sins but still loved them. He continued to love them by caring for them in their new harsh environment. God taught them how to survive in the harsh weather by making clothes and how to offer offerings to Him as an act of worship. The encouragement that we can get in today's devotion is that God never gives up on us no matter how we fail and mess up. God does not tolerate our sins, but he convicts us of our sins so that we can repent. God does not want us to run away from Him when we are guilty of sin, but He wants us to run to Him for forgiveness and restoration. 

God does not condemn us when we sin, but He convicts us of our sins so that we can repent and be forgiven and restored. There is only one way to deal with our sins: to repent and return to God for forgiveness and restoration.

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) What does God want me to do when I sin? Why is running away from God when I am guilty of sin not a solution to dealing with my sin? What does God do when I repent and turn to Him for forgiveness? 

Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them up to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for your continuous love towards me. Please help me not to live in sin, but to live in your ways. Sin only destroys what is good in me, but your ways bring life into me. Please forgive me of my sins and restore my life to you. I accept your forgiveness and thank you for your forgiveness. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.