Genesis chapters 2 and 3 tell of the origin of humanity and sin. Yet I think this Scripture is much more than an account of ‘The Fall.’ Through these passages I believe that God tells us about our identity. God reveals who we are. He answers the BIG question: “Who am I?”
You are creatures juggling three balls
Through this Scripture God tells us that being human means balancing three things. Who we are is a balancing act. I’m going to represent these aspects of human life with three tennis balls.
(1) You are free. God has freely created us and he freely sends us to enjoy his creation. ‘The LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden.”’ (Genesis 2:16). We heard last week that God’s creation is very good, and today we hear that we are given permission to freely enjoy all of it. What have you enjoyed this week? Did you enjoy a tasty steak? Perhaps you watched God paint a sunset for you? Perhaps you enjoyed some intimate relations with your husband or wife? Or you enjoyed spending time with family or friends? We have God’s permission to freely enjoy all of his creation. So who are you? You are a creature of God who is free to live and enjoy anything in creation.
(2) You are protected by boundaries. God has given us some constraints on our freedom. ‘The LORD God commanded the man, “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 from it you will certainly die.”’ (Genesis 2:16–17). Or as St Paul says ‘“I have the right to do anything” — but not everything is beneficial.’ (1 Corinthians 10:23). As creatures of God we are free, but within certain boundaries. God is not a killjoy when he gives us these confines, he does it out of fatherly love to protect us. God commands us, gives us his Law, as a curb to set up boundaries to protect and shield our lives. God is like a parent who says to his children, “Why don’t you play outside for awhile? You’re free to play with anything in the backyard, just stay within the fence.” And what happens when we stray outside the fence? We inevitably get hurt — zapped by the electric fence, hit by a car, bitten by a snake. But if we stay inside, then we can enjoy anything and everything within the safety of the backyard. So who are you? You are a creature of God who is free to do anything, within God-given boundaries.
These two parts of our identity are a bit of a balancing act: you need to juggle being free but within boundaries. Then we add a third aspect into the mix!
(3) You are called. God has called each and every one of us to work in his kingdom. ‘The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.’ (Genesis 2:15). Adam and Eve were called to work in the garden and care for it. And you too are called. But we aren’t all called to the same thing, because what would a body need with 80 hands. Rather the body has hands and feet, legs and elbows. Therefore we have children, parents, grandparents; farmers, mechanics, teachers, home carers; councillors, policemen, town officials; pastors, elders, Sunday School teachers, musicians. So who are you? You are a creature of God who is free within boundaries, doing what God has called you to do.
Being a creature of God means that you are juggling/balancing these three aspects of life: you are free, you are protected by boundaries, you are called.
Evil exists
Yet God has more to tell us about our identity. As we heard in our first reading, a talking serpent suddenly appears. Rather frustratingly we’re not told how this serpent came to be in the garden. The Bible essentially leaves open the question “Why is there evil in the world?” Scripture is not interested in abstract theories about the origin of evil, it simply deals with reality: evil exists in this world and it poisons the beautiful aspects of our lives. Adam and Eve are juggling their three balls, but then the crafty serpent comes along, they loose their focus, and drop them.
This crafty serpent attacks each aspect of our God-given identity. (1) It begins by attacking our freedom: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). He plants that seed of doubt: are we really free? (2) It then attacks our protecting boundaries: even though God has commanded them to not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would die, the serpent says to the woman ‘“You will not certainly die” (Genesis 3:4). (3) Finally the serpent attacks our calling: instead of working and taking care of the plants, Adam and Eve have stopped work to talk to the snake, they look at the fruit and it’s pleasing to the eye, so they take and eat.
Suddenly their eyes are opened. They become ashamed of what they have done. They realise they are naked (nakedness is a symbol for shame). They feebly try to cover their shame with some fig leaves sown hastily together. They hear God walking in the garden so try to hide like cowards. So who are you? You are a sinner who can’t balance your life the way God intended because of evil.
God covers your shame
But then God cries out in concern for his creatures. “Where are you?” he asks, like a loving father whose children have jumped the fence and are in danger. The consequence for eating the fruit was immediate death, so we expect God to enact this punishment. But instead, what does God do? He makes clothes out of animal skin to cover their shame!
As humans we attempt to juggle and balance our God-given freedom, boundaries, and calling. But sin and evil get in the way, and we drop the balls. We deserve and expect death. But instead God spares our life! As the Psalmist says, ‘I will not die but live’ (Psalm 118:17).
St Paul says it like this:
26 In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galatians 3:26–27)
When Jesus defeated death by rising again, you were given new clothes. In your baptism you are clothed with the righteousness of Christ — all the good that Jesus has done is transferred to you, as if you have done it. Jesus pleases God, so now you please God. You are washed in the blood of the Lamb, and your guilt and shame have been covered over.
This means that you get to pick up the balls again. Dressed in your white robes of righteousness you can go back to juggling and balancing the three parts of your life again: freedom, boundaries, calling. Evil still lurks around, tempting you to take your eye off the ball. But when you do, you can return to your baptism, wash your white robe clean again in the blood of Christ, and start afresh. This is the good news of Jesus!
Conclusion
God doesn’t answer all the questions for us. “Why is there evil in this world?” He doesn’t really say. “How do I juggle all these aspects of my identity in the face of evil?” There’s no easy answer. But God has answered the BIG question of who you are. So who are you? You are set free to enjoy God’s good creation. You are given boundaries to protect you. You are called by God to work in his kingdom. You are a sinner who has been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. As you juggle freedom, boundaries, and calling, your guilt and shame have been covered over, and you have been clothed with Christ. That is who you are. Amen.
