Where Are You?

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

WHERE ARE YOU?

Gen 3:8-13

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."

NIV

What is referred to as the fall of man is the central theme of this act of feeling shame and covering their nakedness. We have the conversation between God and the man and the woman when God finds them hiding among the trees and asks that penetrating question, "Where are you?"  Surely, God knew exactly where they were physically hiding among the trees, but he wanted them to expose themselves, to come out and admit where and why they were trying to hide from him. Much has been said about the man making the excuse, actually blaming God for putting the woman here in the garden with him, that it was her fault, she gave him the fruit to eat. Of course, the woman blamed the serpent. But what may have been missed in this narrative is that incredible question from God, "Where are you?" This is the question he could be asking any of us at any time in our lives. Could there be times when we think we might be able to hide from God? When we start to listen to our own heart, wanting our own way, thinking we can choose what we do, how we do it, and when we do it, then perhaps we are either deceiving ourselves or being deceived by 'the serpent'. God is asking us, "Where are you?" Where are you spiritually? Where are you in your spiritual journey? Where are you in either your obedience or rebellion?  Have you chosen religion instead of me? Have you eaten from the tree of religion, rather than from the tree of life? Have you chosen good works instead of my grace? "Where are you?" Why do we try to hide from God, even when we want what we want, when we want it, which ends up being sin? Do we think he will reject us, throw us out of the garden, as he ended up doing with Adam and Eve? The major difference is that Jesus is "The Gate." He made it clear when he said, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. Whoever enters through me will be saved". Jesus opened the way back into the garden, into the paradise, the very presence of God, where we can walk with him, talk with him, and he will tell us we are his own, and joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. If God ever asks, "Where are you?" we need to answer, "I am here, Lord".