Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree ….?

Adam has told the Lord that he had hidden because he was naked and afraid. There would’ve been no need to fear if he had done nothing wrong, so the Lord has the above follow up questions. God is not seeking information here, He already knows what Adam did. He always knows! But part of what is happening here, is that He is giving us a model of how to confront. We know from the rest of Scripture, that His goal is always for reconciliation. And He is respectful here and gentle. We do need to confess and forsake our sin however (1 John 1:9), and this is what the Lord was hoping to accomplish in asking these questions.

I learned the hard way, that there is a big difference between telling someone in an accusatory tone, that they are a manipulator, and saying in a gentle and respective tone “I feel manipulated when …” After my blunder, it took a long time to even come to the place where there was a cessation of hostilities. There never was the shalom type peace that was the goal of the Lord’s confrontation with Adam. But if we are to be His disciples, this needs to be our goal in relationships too!

But I don’t always screw up, and I particularly remember an incident with my son. I must have done it His way, because the response was “Guilty as charged.” The result was that we both experienced the joy of reconciliation! Because this can be very hard, because it always takes two, because some are not willing or because the wounds goes so deep, many have never experienced the full joy possible in reconciliation. It does take work, hard work. As for God, as I have already said, He went the 2nd mile sending Jesus to the cross to effect our reconciliation. And when we do turn to Him come there is joy, even a party in heaven (Luke 5:17)!

Father, part of why it is so hard to do it Your way, is that we are too often far more willing to see the fault in the other, then to take responsibility for our own part in what went wrong. We need Your help Father to be kind and compassionate, forgiving one another just as in Christ, You forgave us (Ephesians 4:32). Thank You Lord that when we see You we will be like You (1 John 3:2), and so then we will be fully reconciled both to You and to each other. Praise the Lord in Jesus Name Amen