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This blog is the first in a series titled: “The Redemption of Life-Givers”

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Lately, as I’ve observed the young women in my life, I’ve been deeply disturbed by their struggle with cutting, eating disorders and wanting to kill themselves. I keep wondering, “Why are they reaching for pain? How do girls from loving, Christian homes who live in a virtual paradise compared to much of the world get to such a horrid place? Why do we as women, young or old, reach for pain and then, in turn, give it to those we love?” I’ve found some answers in the first woman’s story. Her story is my story. We have much to learn from Eve, the first life-giver.

Eve’s name in Hebrew, “Chava,” sounds like the Hebrew for “life-giver.” As women, God has granted us the enormous responsibility of bearing life and then sustaining that life. That truth isn’t just reserved for mothers. Women who will never bear a child are still created to breathe life into others. But, is that how our stories actually play out?

There is much pain in Eve’s story, but God has His eye on her redemption, and therefore, on our redemption as well. In all of our stories, being the life giver God created us to be ultimately means sharing the goodness of God’s bounty with those we love. But tragically, that is not what we often choose to do.

Our Creator allowed us to have choices, and they boil down to the choice to obey God or to disregard His wisdom. I wonder if we don’t choose God’s ways because we don’t really trust Him. Maybe we don’t trust Him because we look askance at what He tells us and misconstrue His words.

I discovered that I had learned to wrongly interpret even the first command God gave His creation: “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”(1) How would you state that command simply? Our interpretation of it betrays how we view God.

I grew up understanding the first command like this: “Don’t eat of the tree in the middle of the garden.” I was wrong. The first command actually has a totally different vibe to it and could be stated like this: “Eat of all the trees I’ve provided for you to eat. Satiate your hunger. Enjoy! Take delight!”

Whoa.

The first command was totally about joy. It was about God meeting our needs. It was about being full. Content. It was about God looking out for us, anticipating what we would desire and providing for it. The fruit was free. We didn’t have to do anything to earn it. God just provided it for us because He delights in seeing us enjoy what He has given us. And nothing makes God more happy than to see us, in turn, giving it to our loved ones to make them joyful too.

God wanted us to reach for that which would bring us life. He wanted we women to reach up for the fruit He had given us and to hand His provision to those we love. But, that is not what happened. Instead we reached for what was not ours to enjoy and handed that to our love. We decided to eat from God’s tree, the infamous Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve’s story is our story. What Eve did is what we do too.

Eve’s story reveals that we tend to focus on what is not ours. We take what is not ours, thinking somehow we can be the deciders. We manipulate to get our way. We control to make sure everything goes “right.” We want to decide for ourselves what is good and not good. We want to pronounce judgment. The real root of this is that we want to be free from restrictions. We want to pretend that we are the queens of our universe. In our estimation of things, it seems quite cruel for God to put a tree in the garden we couldn’t enjoy. Why did He do that anyway? (2)

That is the same type of question I’ve been hearing lately from young women I’m concerned about. They ask things like, “Why do you (as parents/teachers/authority figures) get to control everything?” “Why can’t I decide for myself?” In tears they lash out, “God has never answered any of my prayers.” So, their response is to reach for pain. And, therefore, I have to take a hard look at myself and ask, “Have I taught them to do that?”

Have I taught my “daughters” to delight in what has been provided for them? Have I taught them to reach for that which sustains their lives or have they seen me reach for death? Have they observed me reaching for pain or for joy? Do I intentionally reach for what God has provided for me and delight in it?

These questions lead me to think about redemption because sometimes life seems like such a mess, and I know this is not what God created us for. So, I’ve been asking God, “How can any of this be redeemed? How can our curses of pain be transformed into blessing? Was there a time in history that Eve’s story was redeemed? What would redemption look like in my own life?” I’ve been on an exciting journey of discovering some answers to my heart’s questions. I’d like to explore and unpack the details with you in future blogs. God is at work, my sisters. Take this journey with me!

How do you tend to view God’s commands? Do you view them as if God is holding out on you or as if He is only concerned with your good? What do you reach out for and then in turn give to your loved ones? Is it life-giving? Are you sharing with those most precious to you the goodness of God’s bounty?

 
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1. Genesis 2:16-17
2. The subject of my next blog.
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