2023 Daily Lenten Journey – Day 8

The first week of Great Lent is behind us. We had our celebrations yesterday for the Sunday of Orthodoxy. In many places our Pan-Orthodox families gathered to proclaim our unity of faith. As the new week dawns, our attention returns to the beginning. Today our focus changes from the story of creation to the story of salvation.

And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.  Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever”- therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.  He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.”  And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.  In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.  The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen?  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Genesis 3.21-4.7

Once our ancestors turned their backs on God, as He warned, there were consequences. How we interpret the opening verses of today’s reading will determine how we interpret God’s act of salvation. Trust me on this. There is a big difference between how we Orthodox read these verses and how the west, especially the Protestant tradition, reads these verses. Here’s my question.

When God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden, was He punishing them or saving them? Was the expulsion from paradise salvation or condemnation? How you answer this question affects how you experience God’s love.

Go back and read last week’s passages on creation again. You will see a God who loves His creation. You will see a God who cares for His creation. You will see a God who nurtures His creation. You will see a God who warns His creation about the consequences of poor choices. In the same way, our parents love us. They care for us. The nurture us. They also warn us about the dangers of our poor choices.

“Don’t touch the hot stove! You will get burned!” Most, I would think all, heard this warning growing up. Speaking only for myself, I didn’t listen. I touched the stove and got burned. My parents smacked my hand away from the boiling water so I would not get seriously injured. Were my parents punishing me or saving me?

The difference is the essence of today’s passage. If God was punishing Adam and Eve for eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, then all His actions that follow are actions of an angry God. If though, He was saving Adam and Eve from serious injury, then all His actions that follow are about our salvation.

Just as my parents were saving me, God was saving Adam and Eve. If they had eaten from the Tree of Life in their fallen state, they would have been eternally fallen. Instead, God removed Adam and Eve from the Tree of Life, so they could die in sin. Not to worry. He had them covered. He would come and defeat death, and they would live again with Him in paradise.

As we read the rest of Genesis between now and Pascha, keep asking yourself this question. Is God saving us or punishing us? I suggest to you to read everything as God’s saving actions. He starts right away with having Adam and Eve have children. God needs descendants of Adam and Eve through which to be born to save all humanity and defeat death.

Moving forward, God warns Cain the same way He warned Adam and Eve. “Be careful to choose properly. There are consequences to your poor choices.” This ushers in the cycle of sin and repentance that we inherit from Adam and Eve. Sometimes we choose sin. Sometimes we choose repentance. God is always warning us, but He is always there to save us.