In this sermon, we looked at how God designed mankind to thrive in life-giving relationship with Himself and others. Because of sin, shame entered the story and became a significant enemy to intimate relationship. The shame of Adam and Eve, reflecting the shame in our lives today, moved them away from one another and God. Instead of showing up after the Fall and telling the truth about their sins, the fear and embarrassment of being fully known convinced them that they needed to hide. In Colossians 3, Paul reminds us that the Gospel restores all that was lost in the Garden and gives us the courage to be known again. Paul tells the Church to put on new life in Christ, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator, to live once again in intimate relationship with God and others. While it’s not possible to have this kind of relationship with every person in the world, we can experience intimate relationships within the Church that reflect the life-giving relationships that Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden.
