Sin Awareness

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees.

Genesis 3:6-8

Sin is a big problem we all have in common. I have wondered why this deadly problem never bothered me very much when I was younger. I think it’s because when I was a child, I thought of sin as things that landed people in jail, like murder and stealing. The truth is that choosing our selfish way over God’s way at any time is sin! It’s sobering to think how often we make those choices every day.

I was not consistently in God’s Word as a young adult, but after I started reading the Bible daily at age twenty-eight, I began hearing His voice in my heart. Not only did I start to fall in love with a personal God who revealed His love and mercy throughout its pages, but I started to grow and mature as His child. His Word really is powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword, capable of getting to the heart of our sin problem and cleaning us up (Hebrews 4:12).

When I sin, I want to hide from God and cover up like Adam and Eve did. I feel the shame they felt over having their underlying nature exposed as unfit for God’s presence, but the exposure leads me to Christ, where I find His forgiveness, grace, and mercy.

Sin is an earthly and eternal destroyer. Have you admitted yours to Him and asked for forgiveness? When we believe in Him by faith, God is ready to offer pardon to us and to remove the shame that sin brings.