"Where are you?"

Genesis 3:8-11

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

I first want to propose that if we really knew who God was then we would not try and hide from Him. We have a God who has not abandon His creation after this horrific event in history; rather, we have a God who has not only been faithful in our lives, but in the lives of those in history past. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God has been Fathering, teaching, admonishing, rebuking, leading, giving, cursing, blessing, raising up, tearing down, and a myriad of other things since the dawn of time. There has never been a point in history where God has not been God; He has never had an off day in all eternity.

Where we pick up here in Genesis three is the moment that fractured the course of history forever. From this point forward nothing will be the same. Just as an event like hurricane Sandy changed New York forever, so does this event change creations history forever. Before this occasion God's creation is functioning just as it should. Every flower, animal, wind-gust, drop of rain, lightening strike, and Adam and Eve were functioning in its proper God ordained order.

Many things can be said of this passage of scripture, but the one thing that should be noticed is that it is our fault not God's fault. Notice the question God poses to Adam, "Where are you?” Ouch. It is not hard to notice that Adam knew he was in trouble because, "the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden." Just as a criminal runs from the police, so was Adam running from  God. Adam was the first fugitive in all creation to run from the coming punishment. 

 

Now imagine yourself in God's position when looking for Adam. What do you feel? What is your primary reaction? Have you ever seen a mother who has lost her child? How frantically she runs around until she finds her child, or what about the parable Jesus told where the Shepherd runs after the one lost sheep (Matthew 18:11-14). I see God taking the same position when He enters the garden to find Adam. Instead what God finds is Adam running from God because of fear. 

We see a fear of God in Adam, which is very proper and should be in all of us as well. God could have chosen to start creation over and wipe Adam and Eve off the earth. Instead God chose to remain faithful to Adam and Eve by disciplining them, and then lovingly covering their sin. There is something to be notice besides the curses from God. Do you see how God's primary concern was Adam and Eve, and not what they had done? Yes, Adam and Eve just fractured the earth forever, but God was still primarily focused on finding Adam and Eve. It was as if God was saying, "I see the mess you have made, but I am still here for you. I still want you because you are mine, and I created you for me."

Think of this as I conclude: Do you think that God was finding Adam and Eve to punish them, or do you think that God was finding Adam and Eve because He loved them and wanted them back? Your answer will make all the difference!