The Prototypical Mom

"The Prototypical Mom"

Genesis 3:6-21

Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

Introduction: You cannot speak of the life of Eve without using the word complicated. She is very complicated (and things haven't changed much for her gender.) She is the matriarchal head of the human race. All of us have her genes, her DNA, her blood coursing through our veins. Eve's story is our story. As the first woman and the first mother she represents so many things, not just to women and mothers but to all mankind. Her story is a story of temptation, tears, tragedy and triumph. This morning for Mother's Day I want us to examine four aspects of Eve's life and experience that I believe will challenge and hopefully change all of us.

I. Her Sin

Fundamentally when we think about Eve we think of her failure to obey God. Her relationship with God was based on truth and trust, His truth and her trusting His word. Eve was given a choice. She had options so to speak just like all of us have options. We can obey the voice of God or we can choose to disobey. Unfortunately for Eve she chooses the latter of the two options and she failed. Her choice had far reaching implications as we all know. Her relationships were changed from that moment forward. God had given her a great gift and at the same time a terrible gift. The gift of free moral agency is a wonderful gift if used rightly but the failure to use this gift wisely has terrible consequences. I read this quote from -- Mother Teresa

"I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much."

Every mom/parent struggles with their failures as an example. Often the mistakes of a parent show up in ripples in their children's lives. We can cause a cascading chain of events that can span generations.

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;

The curse is for 3 or four generations but the blessing is for a thousand:

But here is some really good news: The right kinds of decisions can have even longer lasting ripple impact for God and for good!

Deuteronomy 7:9 "Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

We have all felt the sting and pain of our failures. When a marriage breaks up, when our children don't turn out the way we had planned, or you've failed in some other area of life, the good news is, when we are at our worst, God is at His best and we will see that as we examine the Biblical record.

GOD'S PREPARING YOU FOR GREAT THINGS

SOME believe that they have been unfairly treated by circumstances in life.

Consider my high school friend. At the age of 19, he found himself as the leader of a camping trip with a group of young teens. One of those teens drowned in a lake about an hour's hike from civilization. My friend was in charge, and needless to say, he was devastated to the point of hopeless despair.

He called his father, hoping to find some comfort. Like his 19 year old son, the father understood the despair of the family over this loss of life. He understood that this was a life changing moment for his son, along with the potential consequences and trouble that might lie ahead. But rather than join the son in fear and despair, he said to him, "Well, son, there are two ways of looking at this. Either this is a tragedy from which you will never recover, or this is God's indication to you that He has some very great things that He wants to do in your life, and this is the only way that He can prepare you for those things."

The son's perspective on his tragedy changed. That young man indeed went on to great things for God, and fulfilled areas of service and ministry at a very young age that would normally have been reserved for an older man.

The second thing about Eve that I want us to look at is what is said about her "seed" in 3:15.

II. Her Seed

After God pronounces a curse on the serpent (Satan), God says something that may not seem important in terms of how it effects Eve personally but it is a prophecy that has eternal consequences. Let's examine the text: