Greetings to all who found their way here 😊 Today is the highly-anticipated continuation of our Genesis 3 topic; self-consciousness! (If you haven’t read Part I to this series, please go and check it out now, as today we are going to receive the answers to the questions that we asked in Part I. Well, what are you waiting for? Go read Part I and then come right back! Quickly, quickly 😆). So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the long awaited, Part II! Today, I promised to share with you the hope of mankind, give solid proof for why we’re not doomed as an earthly race and last but not least, how to completely rid yourself of the burden and inherent condition of self-consciousness that if you are human, you contend with! Are you ready? Let’s go!!!
We left off at the critical point in time where self-consciousness entered the world. Do you remember when that was? Yes! You’re right! When Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We left off where they had became self-conscious that they were naked and where they had just sewn fig leaves together to make clothing for themselves because they were ashamed to be naked in front of each other and God. It was at that moment that the human race was filled with shame and concern about what others thought about them for the very first time. This is what happened next:
-Genesis 3:8-
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
So Adam and Eve were so self-conscious about their bodies and what they had done, that they hid their bodies from each other and they also hid from the Lord. Their initial reaction when they saw each other naked for the first time after eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, was to make clothing to hide their bodies. They were probably noticing the differences in their anatomy and felt self-conscious. They immediately noticed the differences between themselves and compared their bodies to each others and felt shame. But this new self-conscious mindset not only affected their human to human relationships, it also affected their relationship with God. With God, they didn’t want to hide just their bodies, but also their emotional shame. Before self-consciousness, man and women relaxed in the garden, talking with each other and spending time with God, unashamed and uninhibited. They were naked before and had no problem with it. They had always been naked, but now, after they sinned by disobeying God, by doing the one thing that He asked them not to do; the consequences of that were fear, shame, and a change in the way that they saw themselves and others. But now, they were running away from God and hiding in the forest. Negative emotions of fear were running rampant. So how did God respond to them you might ask? I find what the Lord did in that moment to not only be surprising, but also majestic and beautiful:
-Genesis 3:9-
9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
The Lord called out to man. The Lord was looking for man. God already knew where Adam and Eve were. God is omnipotent and omnipresent, so why did He ask them, “where are you?” God did this because He wanted man to come to Him and talk with Him. God knows where we are, we can never really hide from Him. But He called out to mankind, looking for our response to Him. He was seeking to preserve His real relationship with man. I’m here to tell you friends and family that God never changes. God’s heart for mankind is the same right now in this moment as it was then. He is always calling out to us, seeking us, purely wanting to just talk. To have a real and genuine relationship with us, as any good father to his children would. But man, even some of you reading this right now; you keep running away from Him. Afraid, unsure of what He will say, unsure of how He will respond or maybe you’re wondering if you can really trust Him with your naked soul? I’m here to tell you today, that you certainly can.
-Genesis 3:21-
“ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.“
A few verses later we see God respond to Adam and Eve with love and compassion. Not only did God meet Adam and Eve exactly where they were at; He provided for them even in their disobedience. He gave them exactly what they wanted and needed in that moment: freedom from their shame and guilt. Can you believe that God made coats for them? The God of the universe cared so much for His creation that He made coats for them, to cover up what they had done. To make them feel comfortable again. To restore them to a place of peace again and to take away their anxious thoughts. What an incredible move of God. When shame and guilt were they initial coverings, God clothed them in righteousness. God has good things in store for you and will clothe you with them if you allow Him to. You need to let God (who is Jesus) clothe you in His righteousness in order for you to rid yourself of the feelings of self-consciousness.
The hope of mankind is Jesus. When Jesus, who is God, came to earth to live a sin-less life so that we would have the ability to have a right relationship with God through His death and resurrection, hope for mankind was restored one-hundred fold. Jesus is the reason why we as humans, can walk in freedom and purpose through a relationship with God. He is the answer. You need to personally know Jesus today in order to free yourself from the human-condition of self-consciousness and all the burden of that day that happened around 5,000 years ago in the Garden of Eden.
Final Take-aways: God was genuinely interested in Adam and Eve’s answer and valued what they had to say. God is in this very moment: still listening, still seeking, and still desires for you to come to Him with all of your thoughts, dreams, fears, desires, plans, frustrations- all of it.
-Psalm 46:1-
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
The answer to how to rid yourself of self-consciousness is to walk with God, unashamedly, get close to Him and allow His thoughts to influence you. Have a relationship with Jesus, who is God. Doing life with Jesus isn’t always easy but one thing that every Christian can attest to is this: it is certainly worth it. *+:｡.｡ ｡.｡:+**+:｡.｡ ｡.｡:+**+:｡.｡ ｡.｡:+**+:｡.｡
Lifted Vision Ministry 