Lately, my mind has been on legacies. What kind of legacies will I leave behind for the future generations, not only in my family, but also in life. I’ve been a Sunday school teacher for children for many years which I truly love. I hope I have had a small part in molding a child’s life and belief in God and the Savior in Jesus Christ. I’ve taught in public schools and in preschools. I hope that in some way, though religion is being tossed out of schools faster than trash on the last day of school at your local high school, I am through my own walk, planting the love of God in someone else’s mind. I know I look back and wish there was a way to say thank you for people who were just in my life as examples, that even though they may not know it, they really showed me through just being who they are that God loves me and I am really grateful that He put them in my life.

This topic has brought my mind back to the First Lady of the Universe…Eve. When you think about Eve what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Yeah, I bet in two seconds flat, that incident with the serpent popped right up, didn’t it? Can you imagine if somewhere down the road, someone thought about you, and all they remembered about you was your sin? I would hate that! I have to ask Eve about that someday when I meet her in heaven. There is so much more to this past First Lady, so let’s see if we can learn something from her today.

Genesis 2 introduces us to Eve. Adam had a problem. All the animals in the garden had a mate. There were male and female of every living thing in the Garden of Eden, but a suitable helper could not be found for Adam. (Gen. 2:20b) It must have been a pretty lonely job, and a pretty hard one at that. But God realized that it was not good for Adam to be alone, so He caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. (Gen. 2:21-22) That’s pretty incredible if you ask me. Man is always missing something that only woman can fill. So when he awoke, he called her woman, since she was taken from man.

So there they were, in the garden, naming animals together, naked and not having a care in the world. Why would they? God provided every good thing that they needed, but he did provide one rule. That should be pretty easy, right? Only one rule? Gosh, I feel like I am trying to follow so many rules daily, one rule would be easy, right? Okay, can’t talk on my cellphone in the school zone….check. I can make a right turn on red, but I have to stop first….check. Can’t say the Lord’s name in vain….I am at about 98% on that one (sorry, even I am not perfect) I definitely don’t steal….wait, oh yeah, I did steal a tootsie roll from my daughter’s candy bag….oops. But they are SO GOOD, right? It should be okay, right?

Okay, so rules aren’t as easy to keep as we think. But Adam and Eve had only one rule…do not eat from the tree in the center of the garden. That should be easy. There are so many other trees with fruit in it that is good to eat, that shouldn’t be too hard, right? But strolling near that tree one day, maybe looking at the fruit, maybe it is pretty to the sight, maybe it had some morning dew dripping off it that made it look really juicy and appealing….we just don’t know what triggered it, but Satan took that opportunity to entice Eve. The serpent was a very sly animal. He would say to Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”….(Psst. Serpent….he said only ONE tree…but the serpent knew what God said.) But Eve answered him back, saying “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “ Wait, wait, wait…I don’t remember God saying that…let me thumb my way back to see what God really told them….God said, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Do you see the difference in God’s rule and what Eve said God said? He didn’t say that you couldn’t TOUCH it, you would die….He said if you EAT it, you would die. There is a difference. It’s kind of like when I was in my late teens, early 20’s….being unmarried then, but sexually active, I always thought, “If I got pregnant, my parents would KILL ME.” Of course, they wouldn’t really kill me. They might be disappointed in me, but I’m not losing my life over it, but isn’t that what we girls think? I can’t tell you how many teens I have heard say “Don’t tell….my parents will kill me.” Where does that come from? Well, Eve was no different. God was her creator, and she knew that if she just thought about that fruit, she was dead meat. But the serpent goes on suggesting to her, “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Ooooooooh. Now there is appeal….. (hehe)….I will be like God. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Wait, wait, wait, wait….They’ve been naked all along and there was nothing wrong with it. Why is there a modesty problem now? What all of the sudden has made them think that nudity is bad? This is where I got my problem from. I, too, admit to modesty problems. I have never liked to see my body nude from, well, I couldn’t tell you how long ago it was. I don’t know when it became an issue. I kind of envy my daughter. She thinks nothing of being naked. She’ll get naked when the doorbell rings, actually running around the house in panties when there are guests in the house. But her Mama, I just can’t sleep naked with the man of my dreams. Why? Eve’s legacy…that’s it. It must be Eve’s legacy.

The next part is why we are called children of God. Cause when you make a bad choice, and Papa comes around, you run and hide. That’s exactly what they did. God knew what they did. He knows everything. So he calls out to them, “Where are you?” (He knew where they were) and Adam says, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” God replies back, like the gentle parent that he is, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

And here it comes. I know I used it as a kid…my kids use it. The blame game! “But Mom, everyone else is doing it!” “Brother made me do it!” Only God’s children start blaming each other…. Adam says, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Yeah, it’s her fault and it’s your fault, too, God since you put her here. Eve squirms and comes up with an excuse, too…. “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Ah, free will. God gave us choices. There are good choices and bad choices. But of course, we can’t make a bad choice…we need to blame it on someone else….or something else. You know, I did it cause it was a full moon. Yeah, right. So God, being the good parent, must give out consequences to his children. There’s a consequence for the serpent, there’s a consequence for Eve (which is passed down to ALL of us women…yikes!) and Adam was punished as well. It was at this point that Eve got her name….being the mother of all humanity. And they were expelled from the Garden forever.

So, Eve’s legacy. She’s the one who gave me those awful labor pains!! Is she responsible for the horrible menstrual cramps I get, too? You know, for the longest time, I really did put that on her, but ya know what. I have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, just like everyone else has. I can’t blame her for the bad choices I made and that I still make today. If she didn’t make the first mistake, someone else would have. We may be made in God’s image, but we are not perfect like God is. And I thank Him daily for sending His Son, Jesus Christ, for saving me from my sins. I love listening to my daughter memorize her verses from Awanas. I see all these verses again with fresh new eyes as she learns them and the light bulb goes off in her head…..Romans 3:23 was her verse tonight…”for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and it reminded me, that yeah, Eve’s legacy is always at the forefront of our minds, but someday, mine will be, too. There is nothing I can do to earn favor with God. No amount of goodness will allow me to enter heaven after my death because of all my poor choices. The one and only way is to be forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:4-9 tells us, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” The only way past our own sin is through Jesus Christ. Believe in him, and you will be saved.

When you think of Eve’s legacy or if you think of your own legacy, think of Christ’s legacy. It is our own, if we only believe. I want my legacy to be like Christ’s. Do you?

October 28, 2008
Categories: Biblical Studies . . Author: spicynutmeg

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