“The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.” —Genesis 3:12
Adam and Eve weren’t just the first humans. They were also the first humans to betray one another. Once their relationship with God was shattered, it wasn’t long before their relationship with one another devolved into blame and accusations. Being sinned against (and sinning against others) has been part of the human story from those earliest days to the present.
The ways people sin against others are the poisonous, heartrending fruits of humankind’s treachery against God. Sometimes these sins hit our lives with the force of a wrecking ball. It may take years to regain our equilibrium. In some cases, the perpetrator may never (in this life) be brought to justice or repentance. All of which may lead us to feel that someone other than God is writing our story and to wonder whether He can be trusted.
Yet our faithful, loving God has the power to redeem the unredeemable and to turn ashes to beauty, not just in spite of the injuries we’ve suffered but actually through those very wounds.
Make it Personal
Have you ever seen God redeem the unredeemable or turn ashes into beauty? How did that affect your trust in Him?