Living Story Grace

I know it probably won’t end up being the number-one read ‘post,’ but let’s go back to Genesis 3 and our inherited tendency to blame.  This runs deep, and the good news of the gospel is acknowledging our own sin is, while terrifying, also, the smooth path to living in the freedom of forgiveness.  Hear an excerpt from Cornelius Plantinga’s devotion on this verse in Beyond Doubt:

“The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate,’…The woman said, ‘The serpent tricked me, and I ate.’” Genesis 3:12-13

“At three I had a feeling of

Ambivalence toward my brothers.

And so it follow naturally

I poisoned all my lovers.

But now I’m happy; I have learned

The lesson this has taught;

That everything I do that’s wrong

Is someone else’s fault.

In this folk song, Anna Russell jabs at the no-fault ethics of certain psychiatrists, who have developed an allergy to personal guilt.  The allergy has spread…

Deep in our fallenness is the urge to shrug off personal blame.  We see it early on in the lineup of figures in the Garden — each pointing a finger at someone else.  And we keep on seeing it in the familiar attempt to fix blame on heredity or environment…

Apart from the gospel of Christ, we are tempted to say we have no sin.  We are tempted to see ourselves not as sinners but as victims, nto as fallen but frustrated, not as wrong but as misunderstood or underestimated.”

Cornelius Plantinga, Beyond Doubt: Faith-Building Devotions on Questions Christians Ask

“The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’…The woman said, ‘The serpent tricked me, and I ate.’” Genesis 3:12-13

One of the things I love about Scripture is how it shows me why I do some of the inane things I do, and points to how bad things would really be if it weren’t for God’s redemptive work through Jesus Christ.

Do you blame someone else for The Fall?  Spouse, brother, mother, friend, boss?

Do you know what I mean? The blue light glows on the fancy dishwasher, but when I open it, the dishes seem to be coated with a cloudy film.  ”Why did Kip choose this dishwasher,” I grumble.  (Probably because it was the best the store had to offer at the time, and he wanted to make it easier for us to do the zillions of dishes a family of six plus their friends piles up! (But that redemptive thought comes later…))

My friend called me and complained, “My boss!!! She wants me to enter 10,000 records — all these phone numbers and addresses and some stupid code number.”  I commiserate, “Oh, she wants you to do it by the end of the week?”  ”No, she’s giving me two months.”  ”Well, is that enough time?”  ”Yehhhhhh…but it’s just so demoralizing.  She just doesn’t see I have better potential than that.”  ”Oh, so this isn’t your job? What is your position?”  ”Well, actually, I am a data entry clerk.  I just think my boss should give me better work to do.”  Oh, pulling weeds can be so not fun.

Or, to quote Adam, “God, YOU created this woman who caused all the trouble!!”   Maybe it was something you asked for, like a move, a house, a spouse, or a child, and now you’re unhappy.  Or maybe it was something you didn’t ask for, like an oil spill, a flood, a divorce…Maybe it happened, as with Adam, because you sinned against God.  Maybe it happened, more tragically, because your boyfriend betrayed you.  Have you ever quoted Adam to God?

I have.  I’ve done all-of-the-above blaming and worse.  It’s a nowhere land.

Thankfully, I don’t stay in this nowhere land, by the kind leading of the Holy Spirit, I am led out of my fallen self into LIFE:

“Oh wretched woman that I am!  Who will save me from this body of sin and death?  Thanks be to God…who set me free from the law of sin and death…”  (Read the whole thing in Romans 7:24- 8:4…I’m leaving out a lot of good stuff!!!).

Dear Jesus, we thank you for setting us free from our blaming shaming hearts and showing us a different way to live!  When we get mad today and want to find the nearest scapegoat, let us remember you have already been made the scapegoat, the only True Sacrifice for our sins!  And because of that, make us thankful, truly thankful, for Your rescue and kindness which leads to life! In the perfect, matchless name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, AMEN!”