“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”
- Genesis 3:21 (NIV)

If you recall my last post about the Great Romance, I was saying how it’s amazing that God pursues us diligently. Even when we’ve disobeyed Him, He calls out to us, hoping that we will turn back to Him. This passage continues along those lines. The verse above follows the curses God pronounced upon the serpent, man, and woman.

Now, at the time that Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, their eyes were “opened” and realized they were naked. Because of their shame, they scrambled to find cover for their nakedness. Verse 7 says that they “sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” Now, even after the curse that God places upon the man and woman, He is still showing His goodness and provision. What He cursed was just – a fair consequence for disobedience. But what follows the curse was His mighty provision. He made clothes for Adam and Eve out of skin, which was probably a more suitable (not to mention more comfortable) alternative to wearing leaves.

How awesome is that? Even when we sin and turn from the Father, He will not turn His hand of blessing away. That “kindness that leads to repentance” makes me want to shout from the depths of my heart, or dance with all of my might.

So how can we apply this? Well, for starters, I’m definitely going to praise God for His infinite mercy. He deserves all of the glory and honor we can give Him. In the way we conduct ourselves towards others, this may be forgiving and serving our enemies. It may look like providing abundantly for our children even when they are disobedient (obviously there’s still a need to discipline them if they do wrong). This is a life of consistency and commitment to love unconditionally.

What an amazing challenge for us. May God grace us with His love today!

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’”
- Genesis 3:8-9 (NIV)

I think that this passage, albeit really sad, shows a very important quality of how God pursues us. Background: Adam and Eve were deceived and sinned against God by eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (try saying that fast five times). Because of Adam and Eve’s guilt and shame, not to mention their realization that they were naked, they covered themselves and hid from God.

Now here’s the really interesting thing. God, being the all-knowing Almighty being He is, calls out to the man and asks, “Where are you?”

I’m still in shock as I consider the implications of this question. The question suggests that our Heavenly Maker continues to search for us, even when we sin and turn away from Him. How wonderful it is to know that He calls out to us, waiting for us to respond to His leading, even when we have royally messed up and want to hide. I see this question, not as an indication of God’s ignorance, but His “kindness that leads to repentance” that Paul writes about (Romans 2:4). After I make a mistake, the last thing I want to do is to turn to God. I’m thinking, “oh boy, I’ve messed up yet again.” Then I want to find the largest blanket I can find and hide under it. But God, in His rich mercy and love, initiates the restoration by looking for us. Wow.

In light of this marvelous truth, I’m challenged by how I must treat other people, in order that I might reflect God’s character in the manner previously exposited.

1. Well, this revelation challenges me to initiate restoration with people who wrong me. Even if it’s just a perceived wrong and it’s just me being super sensitive, I should reflect Christ by taking the initiative and lovingly address the wrong with whoever’s involved.
2. I see this passage reflect God’s unending “search” for us. Likewise, I need to be more intentional in how I “search” for people – that is, don’t passively wait for others to invite me to do stuff, but also welcome others to share life with me.
3. With that being said, I also need to learn how to “call out” to other people. What I mean by this is the pursuit of people’s hearts. More specifically, this application could be shown in the way we should treat the romantic pursuit between man and woman. God’s pursuit of us is constant and isn’t hindered by sin or any other obstacle. Likewise, the way men ought to pursue women needs to be that of a “call” – an invitation to join them in life, consistent and constant.

May we all reflect God’s pursuit of us this week.

“The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.”
- Genesis 2:18-19 (NIV)

I think the coolest thing about this passage is not the man-centered application of “we were created for relationship,” but in the observation that our Creator made about our needs, and His delight in providing for those needs.

God takes care of our needs. He sees what we need in our lives, and He provides for them in miraculous ways. He delights in “coming through” for us and giving us what we need and desire.

He also loves to show off His creation. In verse 19 it says that God brought all that He created to the man to be named. I think it’s safe to say that God was delighted to reveal the glorious beauty of His creation to the man. It was to God’s glory for the man to name all of the animals as well – it is a reflection of the authority that God has.

Likewise, when we see someone who has needs for which we can provide, it ought to be our joy and delight to serve them in any way possible. In helping to meet other people’s needs, we are reflecting the nature of our Provider God, Jehovah Jireh.

We also need not be ashamed to delight in revealing our creativity to others in a humble manner. Each of us has some element of creativity within us – it is a reflection of our Creator God. So whether we are musically creative, artistically creative, poetically creative, spatially creative, or what have you, we can use those gifts to encourage and bless others. This is important, especially for those people who are pursuing romantic relationships. Just think – the creativity we pour into coming up with fun encouragement for each other is actually a reflection of the creativity and delight that our God has when He revealed all of creation to us.

So let us joyfully reflect our Creator’s heart in serving each other and creatively encouraging each other. Let us also give thanks and praise to the God who provides in every possible way. He knows our every struggle and need!

“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.”
- Genesis 1:31a (NIV)

God is very creative. Every intricate detail flows out of who He is to make the world as it is. Everything He does is very good. He separates opposites – He is the arbiter of every contrast. He needs only to say/think something, and it is done. Everything He created is a reflection of His beauty. He commands reproduction.

And we are made in His image, His likeness. Both male and female reflect His image.

So what’s the implication? It means that we, the crown of creation, have echoes of the creativity of our Creator. When we build things, design things, make music, create art, dream worlds, etc., we are reflecting the heart of the Creator God. And the greatest of what we can create is new life.

Another point to ponder is how we approach prayer. I often come before God, not fully trusting that He can give that for which I ask. Yet He’s the Almighty Creator! He “made the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1); His creation was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Why should I ever think that He is not capable of satisfying my every desire? Wow, this passage challenges me to pray with confidence that I am asking the omnipotent God to work. He is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20-21)!

Recently, I’ve been burdened to study more about God’s character how He pursues us. My plan is to begin in Genesis and start looking at who God is and how He relates to man and, by extension, the church. I believe that this “Great Romance,” as it is, will give me a better understanding of life and how to respond to God. I think that this study will also give me insight in how to relate to other people better.

As I’ve told my friends, I’m growing ever more convinced that, because marriage is an illustration of how God relates to the Church, romance in this life needs to reflect the relationship between God and the Church. My hope is that by understanding His heart and His character, I will be transformed to reflect God better and subsequently learn to honor, treasure, and pursue a woman the way God honors, treasures, and pursues the Church.

I know I’m going to get a ton of amazing things from this study. I’m posting what I can online in the hopes that someone out there might benefit from what God shows me, too.