Read: Genesis 3:1-13
I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. (v. 10)
Ben is 10 years old and has no parents. He has lived in nine previous homes. He has been told that his current foster family does not want to keep him any longer (more rejection) but that another family is interested in taking him in. Us. According to his caseworker, he’s jittery with nerves (“What if they don’t like me either?), but also filled with hope-filled caution (“Maybe this time it will work out!”)
Psychologists have verified what Genesis taught us millennia ago: we were created for connection. Hardwired into our very DNA, our greatest need as human beings is to be known and loved. Tragically, this is matched by our greatest fear—to be known and rejected!
Ben’s emotional dichotomy mirrors the human condition we have struggled with since the garden. On the one hand, we yearn for love that offers wholehearted, unrequited fulfillment, yet simultaneously we tremble at the merest hint of rejection.
Adam and Eve walked naked before the Father. They were known, unconditionally accepted, and loved. But sin has an insidious way of eroding our self-worth, our trust in each other, in fact, the very best of who we are! And so they hid. We have all hidden ever since. —Tammy DeRuyter
As you pray, ask God to help you achieve wholehearted, authentic, relational connections.
About the Author
Tammy DeRuyter is a former stockbroker turned student of theology and history. She holds master’s degrees in both from Fuller Theological Seminary and Central Michigan University. Married for more than 25 years to Michael, an ordained RCA pastor, they have three emerging, young adult children ages 20, 21, and 22—the youngest of whom was adopted at 11.
