After the snake has slithered away and after the Garden of Eden couple decide to make clothing out of itchy fig leaves, the Lord God shows up for His evening walk. When the man and the woman hear Him coming, they hide themselves. They know something has changed. They carry guilt and shame, something never before experienced. Not seeing them, the Lord God calls out, "Where are you?" When they told Him they were naked and afraid, He ask a second question, "Who told you? Have you eaten from the tree I told you leave alone?" The man confessed that he had eaten from the forbidden tree, but only because the woman gave him the fruit. And, then comes the most awful question in all of Scripture, "What is it that you have done?" (Genesis 3:7-13)
With this question the earth and everything a part of it surely heard the heartbreak of the Lord God. The couple in the garden had not simply chosen to do a bad thing, they chose to do the worst possible thing. They set in motion consequences which could not be delayed or avoided. Choosing disobedience to the Lord God changed everything that had been set in motion. No longer was the creation empty of sin. No longer was everything good. No longer could the Lord God walk in the evening with these two who were the works of His hands for He was holy and they had chosen to separate themselves from Him through an act of sin and disobedience.
When we choose to live in disobedience to the plan of the Lord God, we, too, hear that awful question. "What is it that you have done?' is not a question anyone of us wants to hear the Lord God asking. It is the question of a broken heart. It is the question filled with unbearable disappointment. It is the question which the Lord God does not want to ask us because the asking means that we have chosen a terrible way filled with consequences not of the Lord God's choosing. It is the question that comes out of the knowledge that we have put ourselves in a perilous situation. It is a question that recognizes that there is no safe exit for us. It is a question which means we have chosen eternal separation from the One who truly loves us. It is a question which set in motion a divine plan that would bring the Lord God to another place where His heart would be broken. That place would be Calvary.
With this question the earth and everything a part of it surely heard the heartbreak of the Lord God. The couple in the garden had not simply chosen to do a bad thing, they chose to do the worst possible thing. They set in motion consequences which could not be delayed or avoided. Choosing disobedience to the Lord God changed everything that had been set in motion. No longer was the creation empty of sin. No longer was everything good. No longer could the Lord God walk in the evening with these two who were the works of His hands for He was holy and they had chosen to separate themselves from Him through an act of sin and disobedience.
When we choose to live in disobedience to the plan of the Lord God, we, too, hear that awful question. "What is it that you have done?' is not a question anyone of us wants to hear the Lord God asking. It is the question of a broken heart. It is the question filled with unbearable disappointment. It is the question which the Lord God does not want to ask us because the asking means that we have chosen a terrible way filled with consequences not of the Lord God's choosing. It is the question that comes out of the knowledge that we have put ourselves in a perilous situation. It is a question that recognizes that there is no safe exit for us. It is a question which means we have chosen eternal separation from the One who truly loves us. It is a question which set in motion a divine plan that would bring the Lord God to another place where His heart would be broken. That place would be Calvary.
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