Ephesians 2:1
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.”
God told Adam and Eve in the garden that they were not to eat of the fruit, lest they die. That passage used to mystify me, as they ate the fruit, but still lived. It didn’t take long to learn that there was another kind of death, spiritual death. Part of what that means is that they were seperated from God. What does it mean to suffer this type of death? The most immediate sympton that we notice is that they feel shame. They were naked and unashamed until that last meal. Afterwards they attempted to fix the shame by covering themselves with leaves. God later made them clothes out of animal skins. Let’s not move on too quickly. That first result is a big one. I can look back and see, and still feel, shame in my life. My dog illustrates the posture very well when he’s caught being bad. His head is down and he skulks away in shame. We don’t mimick those movements on the outside, only cause we’ve learned to be better actors. We’ve learn to hide it. Shame is painful. I believe embarrassment is similar. When that happens, I lose all sense of control and I want to flee. My mind spins. Afterwards, we carry around the memory. I’m not sure if this is more or less painful. Probably less in the immediate sense, but it grows. The action snowballs. It becomes a giant in our mind. If others bring it up, it’s painful. So, we avoid those that would. Shame is scarring and long lasting. People’s personalities are altered. Personality disorders happen. We all attempt to cope or self soothe. Some ways are good, others are bad. The unproductive ways are all the addictions and then some. All this is the result of God being removed from our lives. Just as the first parents were removed from the garden, so we are born into this world seperated from God. Jesus’ death provides the fix, but like a vaccine, it has to be administered. We need to make Him Lord (boss) and Savior. It’s free, but we join His team. There is an immediate cleansing of the soul. Some feel it, others don’t. However, the evidence is apparent as the weeks go by. Some of that is peace and joy in the heart, the reconciliation can be felt (Rom 8:16), God works in our very same circumstances to make us better, He helps our flaws, we get to tell others and so on. The garden experience has been restored. We were dead in our sins, but we’ve been made alive again. Just as the crowd at Lazurus’ resurrection ran to tell people, we now have a thirst to tell others. It’s great news. Lord, thank You for Your great sacrifice and Your wonderful reconciliation.