Forsake Your Fig Leaves

When God created people, they were supposed to find their fullness in God and satisfaction in glorifying him (Gen. 2:15–17).

But when first parents were tempted with the possibility of being their own gods, they fell away from the perfect peace and happiness they had enjoyed (Gen. 3:1–6).

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Hiding from God

After they fell, Adam and Eve knew the folly of their choice, and they hid. Their guilt made them run even when no one was chasing them. How many of us run away from God because our conscience condemns us?

Adam and Eve were also hiding because of their shame; when they ate the fruit they knew they were naked. We also feel shame because of our nakedness—our sins and shortcomings and failures and embarrassments. Just as Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness with leaves, so we scramble for ways to cover our shame.

Sometimes we cover our shame with church attendance, or doing charitable deeds for others. But just like Adam and Eve’s self-covering attempts failed, so do ours. We can’t hide from God, because he sees everything: “No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13; cf. Ps. 139:1–2).

Further, Adam and Eve hid because they were afraid. Sin creates fear. We often choose the way of sin to feel free, but instead of giving us freedom it makes us fearful. We fear the outcome of our choice. We’re afraid of what people will think of us. We’re afraid of the consequences, and so we point the finger at someone else, just like Adam and Eve both did (Gen. 3:10–13).

This is what sin does to us. We are guilty, ashamed, and afraid. We hide from the God who is our only source of true happiness.

God Who Seeks

Adam and Eve didn’t remain hidden. God came searching: “Adam, where are you?” He knew where they were, of course, but in asking he acknowledged the new alienation between them. He confronted them with truth of their sin, and declared the consequences of what they had done.

But the Lord didn’t stop there. He didn’t seek out Adam and Eve only to condemn them, which is what they feared. Instead, he came to rescue them. He sought them out in love in order to deal with their guilt, their shame, and their fear.

God clothed them in garments of skin (Gen. 3:21). He took the life of another, an animal, to cover their shame. In like manner, God has provided a covering for us through his beloved Son, Jesus Christ: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).

In Christ, our sins are forgiven and our guilt is removed. We experience a glorious freedom, and fear begins to lose its grip on our hearts, since “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:16–19).

The Lord calls to all of us, not because he doesn’t know where we are, but so that we’ll realize our sins have alienated us from him. We can’t experience true happiness when we’re hiding, and God wants to extend his grace and cover all our sin and shame.

Because of this love, he has provided a way back to him. We receive this reconciliation through trusting:

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9–13)

Our sin and the accompanying guilt, shame, and fear can make us want to hide from God. But we have a King who comes to seek and save the lost, who comes to seek and save us. When we put our faith in this seeking Savior, we’ll never be put to shame.