When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:6-7)
After Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were opened and they saw they were naked. Unlike my six-year-old, who perhaps hasn’t sinned yet because he has no qualms about running around clothes-free (I’m being facetious), Adam and Eve were ashamed and covered themselves with fig leaves.
Let’s stop right here. Fig leaves. Did they really think that would cut it? And who were they trying to stop from seeing their nakedness? Themselves? God?
It so didn’t cut it. Not even close. God swept into the garden, questioned them, and–heartbreaking to him–he had to ask them to leave the garden. Okay, he didn’t ask. He forced them outside, for their benefit, so that they wouldn’t eat from the tree of life and live forever in their unredeemed, new sinful state. He put them outside the garden so that he could work redemption (let’s not miss that purpose-driven nature of God. We can trust those purposes!).
But before removing them from the garden, he was already at work redeeming. In his gracious, fatherly heart, he provided them with coverings by sacrificing animals and using the skins for Adam and Eve’s clothes.
Let’s make this personal, because while it’s a true story, it’s more than a story. It’s an applicable story with truth that affects our lives. We are all Adam and Eve in the sense that our eyes are opened to the reality of sin, and we are all Adam in Eve in the sense that we want to hide. To reach for those fig leaves and paste them over our nakedness. Do we really think this will fix our problem? Nothing we construct with our own hands will cover us. It’s just that simple.
We’re one week away from Holy Week when we meditate on Christ’s sacrifice in a special way. Jesus Christ suffered so that we might be adequately clothed with robes of righteousness.
So what are your fig leaves? What are you reaching for to self-cover? Your talents? Your personality? Busyness? Spiritual disciplines?
Friends, we’re really still naked when we attempt to clothe ourselves with these see-through pseudo coverings. Until we have been clothed with Christ, we are naked.
Take a moment to confess your fig leaves and rejoice in the true covering of Christ.