Eve

I had a great time hanging out with the Georgetown Women's Bible Study this morning. This group has been meeting for 16 years, and I had the privilege of teaching there today. On Eve. Geez. Why can't I get the low hanging fruit like Esther or Ruth? Who wants to teach on Eve?!

Totally misunderstood. Blamed for millennia. Responsible for everything bad that happens on this fallen earth. She's not exactly at the top of anyone's "Must Meet" list in heaven. Or at least she wasn't on the top of my list...until recently.

After studying her a little bit more, I'm intrigued. How did that fateful day in the garden affect the way she made choices through the remainder of her life? How did it feel to be a parent when she herself had not been parented? How did she navigate daughters through puberty when she never experienced it herself?

I always thought Eve's story was tragic and sad, but that's not how God allows our stories to end. We don't really know her ending, but we do know the new beginning God gave her after the fall. First, God announces his divine plan-- the Jesus plan-- right after the fall in Genesis 3:15. That's awesome. But the most intriguing thing to me is that Adam did not name his wife "Eve" until after the fall. "Eve" means "life" or "living" or "mother of all living." What a powerful moment of redemption!

So yeah, now I think I want to meet Eve. And I want her story to challenge me to make choices that are right and good and in line with becoming the person God created me to be. Her story also challenges me that no mistake, no matter how big, bad, or fateful, can thwart the ultimate good purposes and plans of God for my life if I run back to him. We need to let God reveal our true names, our true selves.