Articles
Where Are You?
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Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Gen. 3:9-10)
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We see in this exchange between God and Adam a concise summary of humanity's history: God is searching for us, while we are doing our best avoid His gaze. This simple formula explains so much of the dysfunction that plagues our race.
God has provided for us a world of order and abundance, but to thrive in this environment we must honor the laws that govern His creation. Like Adam, we chafe under those constraints and prefer to do our own thing. We see God as a threat, not a savior, so we refuse to think about Him. Or at best, we try to reconstitute His image to fit our predispositions. We're playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek with our Creator, a game we are doomed to lose.
When life blows up in our faces, we make excuses, or blame others, or deny culpability. We refuse to own up to our mistakes, even as the wreckage from our foolishness keeps piling up. The result of our rebellion is disintegration, alienation, and death. We reap what we sow--exactly as God designed it.
Despite our defiance, God does not give up on us. Even as God and Adam were having their exchange, God knew what He would have to do to save humanity. Through the ages, He has gone to extraordinary lengths to rescue us from our own stupidity, sending prophets and wise men, and finally His own Son to die for us. Like a parent trying to snatch a child from the clutches of an evil lifestyle, no price is too great for God to pay to save us.
"Where are you?" is God's constant plea to all of us. Friend, if your life is a mess, stop pretending everything is okay, and admit that you need help. God is willing to deliver you from the chaos of your life, but you must crawl out of your self-imposed exile and come into the light of His glory. It's time to stop hiding, and find refuge in the arms of the One who has never stopped looking for you.
It's your move.
--David
