Our Painful Reality
The Lord said to the serpent,
‘Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.’
To the woman He said,
‘I will surely multiply your pain in child-bearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but He shall rule over you.’
And to Adam He said,
‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.’
The man called his wife’s name Eve,
because she was the mother of all living.
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin and clothed them.
Then the Lord God said,
‘Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever’ —
Therefore the Lord God sent home our from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden He placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.’
- Genesis 3:14-24
O, beloved!
Pain is our reality just now, isn’t it?
The curse is a real thing here.
There’s no way around it.
Thorns and thistles, and sweat and dust. Nothing’s easy anymore.
These verses, given only a cursory glance, they seem so very futile and hopeless, yes?
But beloved? May we consider them more closely Together, please? For I believe there is hope to be found, even here, among one of the saddest parts of the Story, do you know?
For one thing, look what Adam does! God has just laid out this whole, heart-wrenching set of consequences for their sin and He clearly isn’t very happy with them. But Adam, he names his wife just then. And not just any name! He gives her the name — ‘Life!’ Not death or shame or banishment or the Cursed One - no, beloved! Life! It seems almost like a strange ‘aside,’ this verse here where Eve is named…but as all Scripture is composed by the hand of God, surely that isn’t just an odd ‘oops,’ right?! That bit is meant to be there. It must serve a purpose! (pondering)…I wonder if it’s like Adam’s way of fighting against despair, perhaps? Calling to mind that not all is lost? That life, hope will yet spring forth?!
And then there’s the next part where God clothes Adam and Eve with garments of skin! Not only does He cover them; He also bears with them, yes? And…what does He cover them with? The skin of an animal! The very first animal sacrifice, beloved! The very first time God takes what we deserve and places that sin, that wrath upon another, for our good! That’s quite hopeful too, isn’t it?!
And then there’s His mercy in sending Adam and Eve out of the garden, so that they’re not stuck in sin forever, should they choose to eat fruit from the tree of life as well! Just think what life would be if there was no hope of the pain ending ever…perpetual pain. I’d imagine that’s what hell is like, beloved? Do you think?
Then, too, there’s the hope that the woman’s seed will crush the head of the serpent! The rule and reign of the evil one is limited, beloved! He promises that to us! It’s only a matter of Time, my sweet one, until all death and darkness and sin and pain is done away with, entirely, for those who love Him! Such a short time, it will be, beloved! These days and years flying by as they are, yes?! (hopeful)
So, beloved? All of this to say: Yes, our reality is painful. We will always know pain here. Thorns and thistles galore, beloved. Little twinges of jealousy and covetousness. Tiny pokes of ‘not yet yours’ and ‘you can’t have.’ Splinters of selfishness. Cuts of miscommunication. Wounds that come with relinquishing. Reminders, probably daily reminders, that He will do this His way, not our way. None of it feels good to us. We’d avoid it if we could.
But He wills it, beloved. He wills this pain for us just now, does He not? For He is the Great Physician! The Healer of all pain! He delights to bind our wounds and take splinters out of our eyes and give us medicine for our souls, all with such compassion, beloved! I think He wants to show us His healing power, His mercy, His tenderness, His love, beloved! I think that’s why all this pain now…it only exists so that He can relieve it! In His way, in His Time!
And like Adam and Eve, we have hope, even in this great pain! We see Life, coming Soon! We find refuge in His tender covering of us, in His sending a Sacrifice to bear what we could never bear on our own! We long for the Great Day when we will eat from the tree of life, not in our sinful state, but in our perfected and glorified state! We rest in the Victory of our Christ over all evil, when pain and death and every kind of separation will be banished, crushed, never to be remembered again!
Do you see, beloved, that our reality here isn’t Reality, not really?! This is just a brief sojourn in the wilderness, my darling. The Promised Land awaits! The land flowing with milk and honey, do you know?! (giddy)
We will Soon be There, Together! All pain forgotten. Every last bit.
Only milk, honey, you, me, and our Beloved Christ, beloved! (And maybe some angels and mansions and saints and gold and clouds and things…perhaps…but who’s keeping track?! ;))
No more sin, beloved! No more longing! No more emptiness! All perfect and satisfied and filled to overflowing There!
He will lead us. We will walk Together and trust Him, even in the pain, beloved - until the curse will be no more! All praise be to Christ!