Garden drama

Last week we looked at how we, both women and men, have been given power and authority to rule and reign in life. For many centuries, women have been oppressed, considered less than and inferior. We have made more progress in recent years but in some places, women still get paid less than men for doing the same job and so many other things.

One place where women should not have to feel inferior is in the church. God does not consider us to be less than or weaker. As mentioned last week, we are made in God’s image and there is no weakness in God. Are men and women the same? No. Do we have the same standing, the same power, and the same authority spiritually? Absolutely.

So why does the enemy work extra hard to keep women oppressed? Most of the hate towards women goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. So, what really happened in the garden? Romans 5:12 TPT says, “When Adam sinned, the entire world was affected. Sin entered human experience, and death was the result. And so death followed this sin, casting its shadow over all humanity, because all have sinned.” Wait a minute, growing up I was told that Eve messed up in the garden and she ruined it for all of us, but Romans 5:12 says, “When Adam sinned…”.

Romans 5:18-19 NLT says, “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God [Jesus], many will be made righteous.”

Last I checked, there were two people in the garden but the New Testament seems to focus on what Adam did. Could it be that God was trying to clear the air a little bit? Could it be that God was sick and tired of seeing His daughters oppressed and thought, “Ok, let’s bring some balance to this”? There were two people in the garden, yet when the story is told, the blame almost always goes on Eve. I am not Eve and if you are a woman reading this, you are not Eve either. But something happens when the blame lies with someone who is kin to you.

I once heard someone preach on divorce and they said if the parent who has custody, always talks negatively about the other parent, it makes the child dissociate with a part of themselves or even dislike or hate certain aspects of themselves because they are as much a part of the absent parent as they are the one who stayed. So to apply it here, when we hear about how terrible Eve is, as women, we internalise that and it becomes the breeding ground for the lies of the enemy take root and for oppression to thrive.

Are we saying, we should look past what Eve did in the garden? No, but we are saying Adam was there too. And even so, Jesus came and redeemed what happened in the garden on the cross. It is done, it is finished, it is in the past. We do not need to carry the weight or the shame of what happened in the garden or what happened even in our own lives. We bring it all to Jesus, lay it at the foot of the cross and pick up our God given identity as sons and daughters of the Most High King.  

If we are going to walk in the power and authority that Jesus gave us, then we need to know who God says we are. God does not look at us through the lens of our mistakes, let alone the mistakes of others. Jesus is our righteousness. Meaning, God sees Jesus when He looks at us. The moment we accepted Jesus in our lives, we get to have Jesus righteousness as our own. How awesome is that!

Have an awesome week.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.