The Image Behind the Cover

This is the introduction to my sermon for Sunday on Romans 8:1-4. It is a work in progress but I felt for some reason I needed to post this. This not the whole sermon, so there is no resolution. I guess you will have to show up and here the rest to know the resolution. :)

I often wonder what it would have been like after taking a bite of that fruit. Standing there naked, without clothes, and suddenly your heart is flooded with things that are new feelings to you. First shame hits you. It might be the shame you are feeling from the sudden realization that you had allowed yourself to be tricked. You knew what God had said, to not eat from the tree, but yet there you are standing with a mouth full of fruit, juice dripping down the sides of your mouth and you are beginning to be overcome with the grief that comes from realizing something beautiful is dying.
The bible says that Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened. What were they opened to? Even though God had not yet spelled out the curse of sin that would be the result of their actions, I wonder if they knew deep down the horrible changes that would be made due to their sin. They immediately recognized that they were naked, a fact that had no reason to bother them before, but now, insecurity swelled within them. Yes they were created in God’s image but now the presence of sin began to twist, deform, and pervert their view of themselves, so much so that they sought to cover themselves with leaves.
I wonder what they were truly covering. Were they covering their bodies because they didn’t like to see themselves naked, or they didn’t want anyone else to see them naked? Were they covering their actions, hoping to hide the fact that they were sinful people who disobeyed God’s will for them? I find it interesting that God hadn’t already found coverings for them, but instead he had allowed and apparently desired for them to be naked. I believe he did this because he saw what he had created was good and was in his image. But now, with the presence of sin, disobedience, humanity begins to see themselves as in need of covering. This is the beginning of condemnation, for in the actions of Adam and Eve, they brought upon themselves the condemning reality of disobedience. And because of this they took cover.
We know what this is like, for ever since we humans have been taking cover. When we see ourselves we see reason to hide, or cover who we truly are. We know better than most the intricacies and depths of our hearts. We see the selfishness that fuels the motor of our motives, working for ourselves and no one else. We see the thoughts that run through our heads, whether they be lustful, dishonest, or hateful, and in the face of these we feel the need to cover them. We know what it means to take cover, for we know what it means to feel condemned by our own sin.