"Sin Complicates and Convolutes Everything"

Sunday morning arrived with the fresh dew of what seemed like spring and as I made my breakfast I had every intention of reading the passage of scripture that I needed to review for the children's class that I would teach at the 11o'clock service.

I missed my opportunity, as the morning progressed, without my permission, before I knew it there was no time left.  

As I sat down for the first service lesson, my Pastor began to teach on the very passage of scripture that I had prepared for the children's class a few weeks prior.  I grinned as he announced the first scripture reference as Genesis 3:8-15, the exact passage that I needed to review!  

"Sin complicates and convelutes everything."  

My lesson for that morning was on sin!  Humorously, it seems that every time that I teach the children's class on Sunday morning I am teaching on sin.  But God is His sovereign grace, sat me down to teach me and expand my understanding before teaching His little ones.  He is so faithful!

Deuteronomy 32:2

Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle as dew.  Let my words fall like tender rain on grass, like gentle showers on young plants.

I am always amazed at how intentionally the Lord ministers to me before I minister to children.  He is seriously serious about their souls.  His desire is to be in relationship with people.

Before the fall of mankind, the LORD God walked and talked with Adam in the garden in intimate and open communication with the Creator.

However, after Adam and Eve sinned, their relationships changed.

they heard the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Sin had immediately effected their relationship with God.  Sin makes our relationship with God and others complicated.  

But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, 
"Where are you?" And he said, 
"I heard the sound of you in the garden, 
and I was afraid, because I was naked,
 and I hid myself."   

"Sin places man in a predicament of helplessness."

Sin corrupted Adam's view of God and instead of having freedom and ease in his communication with the Lord, he was afraid and full of shame.  In his fear and shame, Adam blames Eve for his own decision to sin.  

"The woman gave me fruit of the tree and I ate."  

Now sin has corrupted Adam's relationship with his wife.  What a predicament Adam has placed himself in!  We do the very same thing as we allow ourselves to believe the lie that the LORD is keeping something from us that we deem useful and good and by thinking this we become deceived.  

James 1:14

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  These desires give birth to sinful actions.  And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.  

All of our relationships are effected by this cycle of sin, where we are tempted to believe something that then has a bearing on our wants and desires and as we are enticed, our desires drag us away from our relationship with God and others and into a narcissistic relationship with ourselves.  Our selfish desires fuel our flesh to sin and ultimately, thinking we are maintaining our own life, it gives birth to death.

We are DEAD in our sin! Ephesians 2:1 

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.  

Romans 5:8

But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  

"Our failure is always met with God's promise!" 

 From the onset of sin, God promised to reconcile us to himself so that we could be in right relationship with Him.  

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.  Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  ... For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  

Abba, we thank you for rectifying our relationship with you through the sacrifice of Jesus!  We want all of our relationships to be set in the garden of reconciliation.  From this day forward we want to apply this ministry of reconciliation that you gave to us to each and every relationship.  Thank you Lord that in our helpless state of sin you came down and rescued us from ourselves.