“I heard you in the garden, but I was afraid… so I hid myself.”
Can you imagine? God gave Adam everything: a nice place to live, a loving spouse, lots of food… Why and how could Adam be so afraid of God? They were friends. God had given him everything—made it clear that he was invested and loved Adam. How could Adam go from being God’s friend to fearing God enough to hide from him? If I heard my best friend in a garden, what would it take for me to fear them so much that I had to hide from them? What breach of trust or amount of shame could cause that reaction in me?
Sin cut through Adam’s faith, trust, and confidence in God. It brought fear and shame into the world, and destroys our ability to be the best version of ourselves. Sin teaches us to fear our true and beautiful selves.
However, in contrast to the fearful Adam, today we have the example of Mary the brave. Mary did not hide from her best friend, but embraced his will instead. Today, let us ask Mary to help us leave our fear behind and rekindle our friendship with God. There is so much hope in the angel’s words today: “Be not afraid.” Be not afraid of being loved, of being wonderful, or of being God’s best friend.
You are beautiful and loved.
