I was getting ready to go to service and I went into the bathroom one last time and then it happened! A blue drinking class that I had set on the edge of my bathroom counter was hit by my coat as I turned to walk out of the room. Boom! Well at least that’s what it sounded like to me! I turned around and couldn’t believe how many pieces of glass were lying on my bathroom and bedroom floor. I guess they don’t make them like they use too because when it hit the floor pieces shattered and went everywhere. I didn’t have time to clean it up then and when I got back from church I actually had forgotten about that shattered glass. That is until I started to walk into my bathroom. I got my trusty rainbow air purification system (or vacuum to non rainbow owners) and tried to clean up all that glass. You might be wondering what this little story has to do with spiritual matters? Well, as the days went by little pieces of glass began showing up in the strangest places. The first one showed up on one of my toes and stayed there for two days. The second one showed up Friday night in Carey’s foot, at which point she removed hers and since she did such a good job I let her remove mine as well! I began to think about how that shattered glass was like life. Everything can be going along just right and then our lives can become shattered by some trial or contrary wind that blows in our life. We have the choice at that point to let our life remain shattered or we can do something about it. I thought about how sin often times is the culprit that shatters many lives. Paul said in (Rom.3:23) “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” I thought about how God fixes our shattered lives when we obey His holy word. (Heb.8:12) “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” I thought about how shattered lives can be cleaned up but often times their remains some consequence, some little thing that pops back up as a result of the trouble that caused the disaster. The psalmist said in (Ps.55:22) “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved,” I can’t put back the pieces of that glass where they once were but I can put back the pieces of my life with God’s help anytime. He can fix any broken life! We sing the song “Bring Christ your broken life, so marred by sin, He will create anew make whole again” Has your life ever been shattered by some unforeseen event? If not, get ready for that’s part of living on this earth. When it does happen I hope you will remember this little story about my broken glass. I hope you will clean up the mess and go on with your life! God loves us and sent Christ into the world so a life shattered by sin or some misfortune could be made whole again! I thought that glass was helpful before I broke it. But looking back, I see now, I’ve gotten more help from it since it shattered! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I remember the shame of something I did as a child. We had gone to a yard sale and there was an old fishing bob laying in an old box. I reasoned in my mind they must be throwing it out and it was free. However, when we were driving down the road and I revealed my find to my parents they immediately turned the car around. They made me take the fishing bob back to the people and confess that I took it. I was embarrassed and begged them to just let me put it back, but they wanted to teach me a lesson that stealing is wrong. I never forgot the shame I felt as those people stared me down when I confessed my wrong doing. This goes back to the beginning of sin.

When Adam and Eve were lured into sin, they made a choice to rebel against God. God had forbidden them to eat of the tree of knowledge, yet they ignored God’s voice and heeded the voice of the wicked one and partook of the fruit. When one reads Genesis 3:8-19 one sees the seduction, shame and sorrow of sin. For the purpose of this article let us focus on what sin does.

(i)Sin Always Breaks Fellowship with God (Gen.3:8). First, you have Adam and Eve with open eyes trying to hide from God. Sin Always Breeds Fear of God (9-11). We observe the calling Father in vs.9 and in vs.10 you see the cowering sinners. This is the worst game of hide n seek ever played. Man, trying to hide from God. God had come to have fellowship with them, but they had broken the bond with God by violating His will. God asks them if they had eaten of the forbidden tree (11)? God knew where they were the whole time and what they had done, but He made them come clean on their sin. Their sin broke fellowship with God.

(ii)The Sinners Try to Shift the Blame (12-13). Adam sought to blame Eve, Eve sought to blame the serpent who didn’t have a leg to stand on! Notice no one wanted to take responsibility for their sin. They all try to evade, excuse, and explain away their sin. They had been seduced by the lie of the devil, they had felt the sting of shame for their sin, and now they must deal with the sorrow sin brings forth. Instead of confessing their sin they sought to shift the blame.

(iii)Sin Changes Security into Sorrow (16-19). Because of their sin God multiplied their sorrows (16). Woman and man now live in a cursed world because they chose to defy God’s will and do their own. They believed a lie and lost the Garden. They wanted to be God instead of having a relationship with God.

vgarden and were not ashamed, until they ate of the forbidden fruit. Disobedience to the commandment of God was the cause (17). First, Adam and Eve listened to the wrong counsel (17). Secondly, they abandoned the counsel of God (17). Third, they lost paradise because of their wickedness (17). Because of their sin there is disorder of the creation in a curse (18). Thorns and thistles are silent witnesses to man’s

disobedience (18). Adam now sees what sin has brought and God reminds him of his past formation (19), his present frailty (19) and is promised fate (19).

(v)Lessons For Us:  

(1) Sin Still Breaks Fellowship with God (Eph.5:1; Rom.3:23).

(2) Sin Brings a Fear of God (Heb.10:31).

(3) Sin Seeks to Shift the Blame!

(4) Sin Brings Shame and Sorrow!