My young grandsons enjoy dressing themselves. Sometimes they pull their shirts on backwards and often the younger one puts his shoes on the wrong feet. I usually don’t have the heart to tell them; besides, I find their innocence endearing.

我年幼的孙儿们喜欢自己穿衣穿鞋。有时候他们会把衬衫前后穿反了，年纪更小一点的还常把鞋子穿错脚。通常我都不忍心告诉他们，而且我也觉得他们这个天真的样子，特别可爱。

I love seeing the world through their eyes. To them, everything is an adventure, whether walking the length of a fallen tree, spying a turtle sunning itself on a log, or excitedly watching a fire truck roar by. But I know that even my little grandsons are not truly innocent. They can make up a dozen excuses about why they can’t stay in their beds at night and are quick to yank a wanted toy from the other. Yet I love them dearly.

我喜欢透过他们的眼光去看世界。对他们来说，每件事都很新奇。无论是走在倾倒的树干旁、偷窥乌龟在圆木上做日光浴，或是兴高采烈地看着消防车呼啸而过，这世界似乎无奇不有。然而，我也知道年幼的孙儿们并非全然天真无邪。他们可以编出成打的藉口，来解释晚上为何不乖乖睡觉，抢玩具时也绝不手软，但我仍深爱着他们。

I picture Adam and Eve, God’s first people, as being in some ways like my grandchildren. Everything they saw in the garden must have been a marvel as they walked with God. But one day they willfully disobeyed. They ate of the one tree they were forbidden to eat (Genesis 2:15–17; 3:6). And that disobedience immediately led to lies and blame-shifting (3:8–13).

我想，上帝创造的人类祖先亚当和夏娃，可能也像我这些孙儿一样。他们与上帝在园中同行，眼中所见必定也是处处新奇。但有一天他们恣意妄行，竟吃了那不可吃的树上所结的果子（创世记2章15-17节，3章6节）。他们的悖逆随即衍生出谎言与相互指责（3章8-13节）。

Still, God loved and cared for them. He sacrificed animals in order to clothe them (v. 21)—and later He provided a way of salvation for all sinners through the sacrifice of His Son (John 3:16). He loves us that much! 

然而，上帝依然爱他们，并对他们呵护备至。祂牺牲动物的生命，用毛皮做衣服给他们穿（21节），正如后来祂为了拯救世上一切罪人而牺牲祂的爱子（约翰福音3章16节） 。祂爱我们如此深切！

亲爱的主，尽管我们犯罪，感谢祢仍爱我们，并为我们预备救恩，使我们得以永远与祢同住！

Genesis 3:1-13    NIV

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

创世记 3:1-13

3 耶和华神所造的，唯有蛇比田野一切的活物更狡猾。蛇对女人说：“神岂是真说，不许你们吃园中所有树上的果子吗？” 2 女人对蛇说：“园中树上的果子我们可以吃，3 唯有园当中那棵树上的果子，神曾说：‘你们不可吃，也不可摸，免得你们死。’ 4 蛇对女人说：“你们不一定死！ 5 因为神知道你们吃的日子眼睛就明亮了，你们便如神能知道善恶。” 6 于是女人见那棵树的果子好做食物，也悦人的眼目，且是可喜爱的，能使人有智慧，就摘下果子来吃了；又给她丈夫，她丈夫也吃了。 7 他们二人的眼睛就明亮了，才知道自己是赤身露体，便拿无花果树的叶子，为自己编做裙子。 8 天起了凉风，耶和华神在园中行走，那人和他妻子听见神的声音，就藏在园里的树木中，躲避耶和华神的面。 9 耶和华神呼唤那人，对他说：“你在哪里？” 10 他说：“我在园中听见你的声音，我就害怕，因为我赤身露体。我便藏了。” 11 耶和华说：“谁告诉你赤身露体呢？莫非你吃了我吩咐你不可吃的那树上的果子吗？” 12 那人说：“你所赐给我与我同居的女人，她把那树上的果子给我，我就吃了。” 13 耶和华神对女人说：“你做的是什么事呢？”女人说：“那蛇引诱我，我就吃了。”

整理：于姊妹