Being Real > Being Perfect: How Transparency Leads to TransformationSample

Fully Known, Fully Loved

No one teaches us to conceal. No one teaches us to skirt the truth. It’s almost a reflex. And our instinct to hide goes back to the very first human beings.

Adam and Eve had a unique relationship with God. They were exposed before God, and they felt comfortable with it. They were naked and not ashamed. They were fully known, and they felt fully loved.

God provided them with all they could ever need, and He gave them purpose and meaning, and His presence. Then He said they could have anything they wanted in the garden except for one thing: the tree located in the middle of the garden. He told them to stay away from it or they would die.

But then the serpent appeared and twisted God’s words. The woman took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he ate it, too.

At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. At this, they hid from God among the trees. Then God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Adam replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked” (Genesis 3:9-10).

Sin and hiding go hand in hand. Sin causes distance in relationships. Hiding keeps distance in relationships. Sin causes pain in relationships. Hiding keeps a relationship broken. Sin causes a disconnection with God. Hiding keeps us disconnected from God. Sin affects those in our immediate circle. Hiding can affect generations.

God’s desire for us is that we would be fully known and know that we are fully loved. But we must first identify where we hide.

Where are you turning to escape a choice, consequence, or outcome?