Genesis 3: The origin of sin

Scripture

²¹ The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

Observation

So we have in this chapter one of the most famous passages of Scripture, which, like yesterday’s raises all sorts of questions that have been debated and debated. Were Adam and Eve literally real? Why did the decision of one person have to affect the whole of the human race from then on? And, most importantly, could snakes talk at one point, and was this a common occurrence for Adam & Eve??!! But I don’t want to focus on those, I want to focus on God, and what this verse above reveals. He discovers that his beloved humans, the first people he has created, have gone behind his back and done what he told them specifically not to do. So he assigns the punishments due to them, because he is a just God. But then the first thing he does for them after that is an act of compassion – making them some clothes. I have to say, transposing this situation into an equivalent with my children, if they had made a mess of something by doing precisely the opposite of what I’d told them to do, I might well say, “Your mess – you deal with it.” Thankfully, our God isn’t like that.

Application

Really, there are several ways to respond to this. Firstly, praise and thanks God for being the compassionate, merciful God that he is. He could have totally erased Adam & Eve from existence and started again with a new species who would do what he said, but he loved and respected us enough to allow us free will to follow him. Instead, he shows love. Second, we can determine to do our best to follow what he’s telling us, and most of what we need to know is in the Bible. There are occasions when he speaks to us in a different way, and we need to train ourselves to listen, which isn’t always easy. The third thing we need to do is be like him. When people get themselves into a mess, and especially when we and they both know it was avoidable, don’t stand in judgement, as that position is only for God. Let’s show mercy and compassion, and support people as best we can in getting themselves out of that mess. This is one reason I regularly support the work of Christians Against Poverty (CAP), a fantastic organisation that frees people from the burden of debt and releases them into living more as God intended. Check them out.

Prayer

Father, I’m sorry for the times when I deliberately go against what you have told me. I confess that the sinful nature is alive in me, and I need your help to overcome it and live as you intend. Please also help me to have mercy and compassion on others when they need it, as you did with Adam and Eve. Amen.

 

Acts 16: The Jailbreak

Scripture

³³ At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.

Observation

So Paul and Silas are in jail, basically because they freed a slave girl from an evil spirit. Of course this evil spirit-possessed girl was being used by her owners to make money predicting the future, and they are miffed that this little earner has disappeared. So they have Paul & Silas arrested, flogged and thrown into jail. They start singing and praising in jail, an earthquake occurs which enables all the prisoners to escape – but they don’t, presumably because of the example of the two apostles. Instead, the jailer is so moved by this whole event that he asks them how he can be saved, so they duly pray for him. And the first thing he does as a Christian is wash their flogging wounds.

Application

This guy has got it, hasn’t he? He seems to have instantly understood that turning to God, being forgiven for his sins and washed clean himself, is an incredible act of compassion, so he responds in kind. Presumably this means that since their flogging Paul & Silas had been sat in their own blood, filthy and in pain, and yet still praying and singing hymns – there’s an amazing response to persecution for a start. But the jailer sees their need and responds appropriately before anything else has happened. Very simply, as Christians, we ought to follow his example – show compassion, meet people’s needs, do what we would want to be done for us. I know, it’s not rocket science, but it stood out to me in this story.

Prayer

Lord, make me a Christian who sees and responds to the needs of others, whether I’m busy doing something else or not. Amen.

 

Psalms 81-83

Scripture:

Psalms 81-83

Selected verses:

^{Ps 82:4} Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

^{Ps 82:5} “They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness;

Observation:

In many ways there is nothing radical or unusual about the first verse here – something along this theme occurs over and over again, especially in the Old Testament, when Israel needed to be reminded that along with all the nation-conquering, land-settling and temple-building they had to have an eye to the poor among them. There is a theme of good treatment of those less fortunate than yourself throughout the books of the Law that god gave his people, and no Hebrew reader or worshipper would have been surprised by these words. What struck me was verse 5, which gives an explanation as to why we should behave like this towards the weak and needy, and it’s so simple – because their desperate situation means they can’t understand the world around them. It very much reminds me of Jesus looking at those around him who had come to hear him teach like ‘sheep without a shepherd’ (aimless wanderers, without guidance, and in danger of being attacked), and having deep compassionate love for them.

Application:

I remember looking at a friend back in around November and thinking they embodied that ‘sheep without a shepherd’ look right at that moment, and I fleetingly understood the compassion that Jesus couldn’t help but feel. I want to be able to love people like that on a regular basis, to be Christ-like in that respect. I’m definitely not most of the time; I am generally very focussed on what’s going on just around me, and don’t look at others in a perceptive way at all. As well as this, though I have plenty of opportunities to campaign on behalf of the poor and needy in this world, as we all do, I only do the things that I can do easily – if it requires effort I lazily leave it to someone else.

Prayer:

God, please change this in me! Break my heart for the poor, as yours breaks for them and has always done, and cause me to look on those in need compassionately and then DO something about it!