Innocence Lost

If you think about it, there was a time in our childhood, each one of us, where we were still innocent to the wickedness, sorrow, hurt, and evil found in life. For some of us, the end of this innocence came earlier than for others; but, all of us, at some point, found this innocence shattered by some act or experience. And I would expect that you can still remember when it happened. When, if you will, you woke up to the reality of the world in which we live.

The transition from Genesis 2 to Genesis 3 is very unique. At the end of Genesis 3, we see the man, Adam (which, literally means “man”), and the yet unnamed woman, enjoying life in the paradise of Eden, being “naked” and yet “feeling no shame” (which is symbolic of innocence of the purest form).

Suddenly, however, a new character enters the scene in Genesis 3, symbolized in the story as a serpent. This character brings into the story a temptation to be disobedient to the commands that God has given man and woman. Once this temptation takes effect, the woman and man commit an act of disobedience, which results in “their eyes being opened.” Now, it isn’t that their eyes were not open before, but something evil has taken root in their minds – they now have a sense of shame, which is seen in how they “realize” their nakedness, and hide from God.

Now, they aren’t ashamed of their bodies, they are ashamed of who they have become. And, they are attempting to hide who they truly are (their true selves) from God. The point that is seen, in looking at the text this way, is that we cannot, however, hide our true self from God. He knows us, completely.

You see, we still play this game today. We put on a front, we paint ourselves as someone that we aren’t, and we are ashamed of who we truly are “in the dark” or when we are totally honest with ourselves and others.

The point of this story is that we fail – we all eat the fruit. There comes a day when our innocence is shattered, and the world never quite looks the same again. So, we cover ourselves, and hide ourselves, and sometimes this continues to the place where even we can’t figure out who we are anymore. We suffer under the consequences of our disobedience.

But God’s work is a work of restoration.

He didn’t destroy man and woman. In fact, He cared for them so much that He even personally clothed them, and set in motion a plan to eventually restore fallen humanity to our proper place: paradise. Though we’ve failed, God set in motion a plan to show the fullness of His love, and His forgiveness, to us, culminating an unknown number of years later on a hill called Golgotha, where the punishment for our own disobedience was poured out, not on us, but on the one who took our place – God’s very own son – Jesus. The one who never lost his innocence took the place of all those who did.

It’s here, on this hill, that God’s work of restoration reaches its fulfillment. The King of God’s kingdom is coronated. And the restoration that humanity had so desperately hoped for is initiated.