Where Are You?

One of the first recorded questions in Scripture is in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve were originally created to reflect the image of a good and perfect God. They were crafted to be in constant communion with the God who created them in a perfect place, in a perfect state. Imagine being able to walk with God, to talk with Him, to ask Him any question that you would want. However, as you probably know, things did not work according to that plan.

Both the man and the woman were tempted and made a choice, a choice that I believe we all would make if given the chance, to exchange what they knew—communion with a holy God in a perfect world, in a perfect state—for a lie, for something they thought would give them even greater glory. So, they ate the fruit. The fruit that God had specifically forbidden them from eating and Genesis tells us that immediately their eyes were opened and they realized that they were naked.

At that moment Adam and Eve experienced something that we have all experienced at some point in our lives. For the first time in history human beings felt ashamed. They felt that something was wrong with them. So what did they choose to do? They ran and hid. Nothing was wrong with the fact that they were naked. They had never realized or had a problem with it before. But now, in this new fallen state they felt a perceived and heightened sense of insecurity. They felt like something was wrong with them.

I think that a lot of times I catch myself reading the next part of this story like it was one big game of hide-and-seek. God searches in their tent, “Oh, they’re not there.” He searches in some trees and in other places around the garden, “Oh, they’re not there.” He throws up His hands and playfully yells, “Where are you?” totally unaware of what they had just done. This is how I read this passage for a long time and then I realized that I was completely wrong. This is God we are talking about! If it was me in this situation maybe I would think it was hide-and-seek but no this is God. Of course He knows where they are; of course He knows what they have done. He knows but He still asks the question, “Where are you?”. Why? Because this is not a question of where they are physically but of where they are spiritually; where they are relationally with Him.

Now, He knows that answer too and this is why this question is so amazing. At the heart of this question is not anger or disappointment. At the heart of this question is grace. The heart of this question is grace and love. There in that bush where Adam and Eve are hiding we discover a God who patiently pursues. There is no reason to think that God actually was searching for Adam and Eve as if He did not know where they were hiding. But here in the chaos of Eden we see a God who patiently waits for their response. Here in the very beginning of Scripture, at the first point as things look as if they are about to unravel, we encounter a God who is not waiting to strike but a God who is waiting to pursue. This is the heart of the Gospel. Nearly all other religions in the world portray man’s endless pursuit for God. Here, at the very beginning of the Scriptures we see the beginning of a shift—God’s pursuit of man.

You see, when God went searching through the garden for Adam and Eve He was looking towards the Cross. He knew that no amount of animal sacrifice could pay the price for their multitude of sins. So, He gave Himself—the perfect sacrifice—so we do not need to live ashamed anymore. In his death on the Cross Jesus covers our shame, our guilt, and all of the things in our lives that keep us from feeling free. In the spilling of His blood all of our sin is paid for, our slate is wiped clean. But we know that this is not the end of the story. The best part of the story is that when Jesus emerged from the grave, He did not just give us freedom from our shame, He gave us power over it. The Cross makes us free but the resurrection gives us power. The resurrection gives us the chance to live again with Christ in a new perfect place and a new perfect state. The resurrection gives us a chance to walk with God again just as He walked with Adam and Eve.

The book of Revelation gives us the metaphor of Jesus standing at the door of our hearts. He says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” God doesn’t force Himself on you. He doesn’t make you believe. He is waiting, patiently pursuing, and He waits for you to answer the door.