What is the church? Afraid because we are naked.

What is the church?  And what can we liken it to?

"But the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die. For God knows that on the day you both eat from it, then your eyes will be opened and you both shall be like gods, knowing good and evil.”

The church is made up of sinners.  Even in perfection we were tempted to hate God and want to be rid of Him and our need of Him.  We coveted power.  We coveted independence.  And to do that we doubted that God was good.  We doubted that God loved us.  We doubted that God knew what He was doing.  We ceased to trust.  We ceased to obey.  We ceased to believe that God was what God is.  This is the church that did this.  God's chosen, handmade children.  God who can do no wrong and is perfectly just and fair made the two most perfect specimens of human that have ever existed to give us the best shot, our champions, our apex humans, our alphas, had we been there we would have thrown parades for them, lauded them, watched them on the talk shows, voted for them unanimously and figured the game was in the bag.  Bet the freakin' farm on them.

And lost.  They failed.  God gave them a single choice, just as he gives us.  Will you trust me?  Will you love me enough to obey me?  Will you doubt that I AM good and know what's best for you?  All you have to do is... not eat this.  A test is not a fiery trial that you either pass or fail, a hurdle you have to jump, a race you have to win to move on, it is a mirror, designed by God who knows you and loves you to show you what you refuse to see, yourself.  That's what naked means: exposed.

A couple of bites later the church went from those children of God in perfect relationship with him and each other to those miserable sinners hiding from Him and each other, trying not to be naked anymore, trying not to let anyone see what we really are.  And for the next four to six thousand years or so, the church was defined as those TRYING to be in relationship with God... and failing.