God's Love

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them (Genesis 3:21).

Two attributes of God shine out in these verses; two attributes which form the backbone of the story of the Bible. First we see God's mercy. Mercy is when God doesn't give us what we deserve. To put it bluntly, Adam and Eve deserved physical death. Not only because they sinned, but as the original parents, all their children, and their children's children, etc., would be born sinful.

God in His mercy, however, spared their lives even though the spiritual connection they had with Him died. We also see God's grace in action here. Grace is when God gives us what we don't deserve.

Among other things, God gave Adam and Eve clothes of skin. The life of an innocent animal was taken to cover their nakedness and their sinfulness. In a strange way, we see God's mercy in allowing Adam and Eve to die (when they were old).

I don't want to be insensitive if you've lost loved ones--I have too, and it certainly didn't feel like mercy. But in this world full of selfish, sinful people, an unlimited life span would be too much.

Finally, God gave Adam and Eve children. Cain was born first and then his brother Abel. After Abel was killed Seth was born and then many others. Through the line of Seth, however, would someday come the one promised in Genesis 3:15, who would destroy the evil one. God's mercy and His grace are both evidences of His love for us. And since the beginning of the human race, He has been actively seeking a relationship with people including you. Will you respond?