Let's recap the beginning…
God makes humans. He puts them in the garden. Life is perfect.
Then the serpent comes. He tempts them, and they eat the fruit.
Adam looks at Eve, probably thinking, "She looks good," and then looks at himself. He realizes something is wrong. They are both naked.
They hear God coming. They try to find a place to hide, but hide and seek isn't a fair game when the seeker is omniscient.
After Adam realizes he can't hide, he tells God, "Here I am," and why he hid. God follows this by asking a simple, yet profound question.
"Who told you that you were naked?" (Genesis 3:11)
God proceeds to call him out for eating the fruit, and if you grew up in church like me, you know the rest.
Sound familiar?
But God's question here sticks out to me. "Who told you you were naked?"
It's an odd question when you think about it.
Why would the all knowing God of the universe ask such a question? I believe God was trying to get Adam to understand how the enemy works.
The only way Adam and Eve would have found out that they were naked is to believe the lies of the enemy. Satan told them, “Did God say ____?” and he got them questioning the character of God.
When they questioned God's character, sin was the result, and they then saw that they were naked.
The liar told them they were naked.
Satan still works the same way.
He is quick to remind us of where we’ve failed. He tells us about the times we've lied, stolen, cheated someone, or any sins that we've committed. He tells us these things in hopes to change our view about ourselves.
He wants you to believe that you’re a liar, a thief, a cheater, or anything else he says, because maybe you've acted that way in the past, or you've had those thoughts before.
And still, we listen to the father of lies. When you keep listening, you begin to believe these things about yourself. You believe a lie.
I believe that God is looking at you today and saying the same thing He said to Adam and Eve in the garden - Who told you you were a liar? Who told you you were a thief? Who told you you were naked?
We need to trade in the lies of the enemy for what God says about us.
I am reminded of what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV):
“Therefore, if any anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.”
I love the way The Mirror Bible puts this verse.
“In the light of your co-inclusion in his death and resurrection, whoever you thought you were before, in Christ you are a brand new person! The old ways of seeing yourself and everyone else are over. Acquaint yourself with the new!”
If you break the verse down it's saying this: Anything you’ve done before you were saved is gone. The only true way to see yourself is to view yourself in Christ!
Stop questioning the character of God and believe what He says about you.
The only way to view yourself in Christ is to get in the Word. Renew your mind to what God says about you, and view yourself in the mirror of the Word of God (Romans 12:2 and James 1:23-24).
You are righteous because He is.
Who told you you were ______? What made you believe them?
By Grace,
Dave