The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done? The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Genesis 3:12,13
Taking Responsibility
Daily Devotion – March 3, 2023
Devotion based on Genesis 3:12,13
See series: Devotions
When’s the last time you heard someone take responsibility for their actions? Owning up to one’s behavior is a rare thing these days. When caught in a lie or in an unpopular decision, politicians pass the buck. After doing something inappropriate, athletes duck behind lawyers. When engaging in questionable behavior, celebrities hide behind the facade of popular opinion. Even when public apologies are made, they are often in the form of legally prepared statements that are carefully crafted to avoid acknowledgement of guilt.
It is easy for us to shake our heads and condemn such actions, but truthfully, we aren’t any different. Like so many others today and like Adam and Eve in our Bible verses for today, we too seek to blame others for our actions and avoid taking responsibility for those actions. We blame our up-bringing. We blame the circumstances of the situation we were in. We blame people we were with when the bad thing happened.
While passing the buck and denying responsibility might deter others from holding us accountable for our actions, it does nothing before God. God sees through it all and demands that we come clean for our sinful thoughts, words, and actions.
Thankfully, when we do that, we see that we have someone who took the blame for us. Knowing that we could not make our sins right, let alone own up to them, God sent someone who would take ownership of sin. Even though he personally never committed sin, Jesus took ours on himself. He picked up all our sins and carried that heavy burden all the way to the cross, where he died for each and every one of them. He suffered and died so that we wouldn’t have to. He didn’t blame us even though he had every right too. Rather, he died so that we might live.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying in my place. Forgive me for my sins. Enable me each day to own up to my sin and trust that you have removed them from me. Amen.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
