Day 1 – Stop Blaming Adam and Eve: Taking Back Responsibility for Your Life | It Started in Eden, But It Doesn’t End There

Genesis 3:6-7 (NLT) – “At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.”

We all know the story: a garden, a tree, a choice, and two people whose decision changed the entire world. 

When we hear about Adam and Eve, we often think, “If only he/she/they hadn’t eaten that fruit.” 

And without reading the Scripture carefully, some debate who actually ate the fruit first, as though that detail could change the outcome of the story. 

But Genesis 3:6 (NKJV) makes it clear—Eve took the fruit and ate it first, then gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate too. The serpent deceived Eve, but Adam was silent and chose disobedience. 

That single act shattered perfection. In one choice, innocence was lost, trust was broken, and humanity stepped out from under the covering of God’s will. 

So the point isn’t who bit first; it’s that both stepped outside God’s will—and humanity’s fellowship with Him was broken in that moment.

But their story isn’t just history; it’s a mirror. Every day we stand in our own kind of Eden, deciding whether to trust God or take matters into our own hands.

Sometimes our “Adams” and “Eves” are people or situations in our lives — the ones we still blame for why we hurt, struggle, or hesitate. 

Perhaps your “Eve” was someone who once appeared trustworthy, drawing you into a covenant built on pretenses, only to turn away when truth came to light and loyalty no longer served their interest, when keeping the covenant no longer benefited them.

Maybe my “Adam” was someone who offered something that looked good, sounded right, or felt promising—but led to pain instead of peace. Ahhhh, many of us might be thinking of our failed marriages right here…

But catch this: whatever it looks like, the moment we hide behind excuses, we echo the first fall. Because…notice what we are doing here, blaming others for what happened.

See, when Adam and Eve realized they were naked, shame rushed in. Their instinct was to cover what was broken, so they sewed fig leaves together. 

You know what’s interesting? We do the same thing today, when we hide behind pride, busyness, or silence. 

But Psalm 32:1 (ESV) says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” God’s covering is mercy, not pretense. Even after they disobeyed, grace was already moving. 

Genesis 3:21 (NIV) tells us that the Lord made garments of skin and clothed them. That act revealed His heart: He doesn’t leave us exposed in shame; He steps in to cover us. Hallelujah. God doesn’t expose our nakedness to condemn us; He covers it to restore us.

Isaiah 61:10 (NIV) echoes this: “He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.” What started with fig leaves ends with righteousness.

Family, while sin began in Eden, grace began there, too.  And that’s important to understand, because we often focus on the fall and overlook the favour. We remember the mistake but miss the mercy — yet the mercy was greater.

Romans 5:18–19 (NIV) explains that through one man came condemnation, but through another—Jesus Christ—came justification and life. The first Adam lost dominion; the second Adam restored it. So, even in our failures, redemption is already written into our story.

But notice what happened next, Family: blame entered. Adam pointed at Eve, Eve pointed at the serpent, and no one took responsibility. And we have been doing that ever since. “If they hadn’t hurt me,” “If they hadn’t left,” “If life had been fair.” 

Yet Ezekiel 18:20 (NIV) reminds us, “The one who sins is the one who will die.” In other words, each of us is accountable for our own choices.

We go to James 1:14-15, which says to us: temptation begins with our own desires and, if left unchecked, gives birth to sin. 

Family, what we want to promote today is that real growth starts when confession replaces excuses. 

1 John 1:9 (NLT) promises, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us.” Confession is the doorway to freedom.

Today, maybe there is one among us who is still wearing your own fig leaves—covering regret, anger, or fear. 

You’re reminded of Romans 8:1-2 (NKJV) which encourages us like this: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… for the law of the Spirit of life has made you free.” 

So I don’t have to fix myself, you don’t have to fix yourself; we don’t have to buckle when people threaten to expose the sins of our past. All we have to do is surrender ourselves to Almighty God and allow Him to wash us and give us a new life. 

Titus 3:5 (NLT) reminds us that God saves us “not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy.”Transformation begins in the mind. Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” 

You can’t renew your mind while rehearsing who hurt you—renewal comes when you focus on who healed you. Through Christ, you are not who you were in the garden; you are a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away.”

Maybe our beginning was painful, but God’s grace is greater. He never meant Eden to be the ending—just the opening chapter of redemption. 

Paul captured this in Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV): “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” 

That’s our invitation: to stop replaying the fall and start walking in renewal.

So what if, instead of blaming, we began building? What if we stopped hiding and started healing? 

Know that the same God who walked through Eden calling, “Where are you?” is still calling to us today—not to condemn, but to restore. He’s not asking because He doesn’t know where we are; He’s asking because He wants us to know we’re not lost to Him.

So what are we saying here today? 

It started in Eden, but it doesn’t end there. The story that began with shame ends in salvation. The ground where sin took root is the same ground where grace grows again. Hallelujah.

So I cannot change what I did in the past, you can’t change what you did in the past, or what people did to us, for that matter. 

But guess what? We can choose how our story continues—and with God, it always continues in redemption.