Gen 3:9

"Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" Gen 3:9

Many years ago the teaching pastors of a church in another part of the world taught a series called, "Big Hairy Questions" seeking to answer some of our... well big questions about why God does what He does. Well, the Bible has a few questions of its own, and I thought we might investigate a few of those "Big Hairy Questions." Ready? Let's go.

The first question we will discuss is actually the second question in the Bible. "Adam, where are you?" That seems like a simple question with a rather simple answer. "I'm hiding from you, God," would be the expected response. But there is more to both the question and the answer than meets the eye. First, God's question. God knew full well where Adam was. Remember, God was still God and He had all of His supernatural powers long before man was created. Creation shows that God is all-powerful. The fact that He could conceive of all that it takes to make the universe spin in harmony shows that God is all-knowing. The fact that He and the Son and the Spirit were involved in all of the creation process shows that He is omni-present. Yes, there is no doubt that God knew where Adam was and why he was there.

So why did God ask Adam where he was? Have you ever asked "Little Jamie" why he had cookie crumbs on his face? You already knew the answer. Jamie had been eating cookies. Why did you ask him? Most likely you wanted to give your son an opportunity to "come clean" and admit his wrongdoing. Did he? Not likely! Jamie may have asked, "What cookie crumbs?" or "I don't know," or "Brother made me do it." Not quite the answer we expected and hoped for. Discipline followed because of the dishonesty, and that discipline was probably more severe that if Jamie had simply said, "Because I ate a cookie... or two." God wanted Adam to come clean.

But Adam hid the truth, in a grove of trees and behind a fig leaf. Instead of responding with the truth, Adam said, "I was naked and so I hid from you." More questions followed. Blame was cast upon "the woman" who passed it on to "the serpent" who took a blow to the head and slithered away.

So now I ask you a question. "Where are you?" Are you hiding behind some feeble excuse, your own form of a fig leaf? When God calls you, do you answer with something less than the truth? Of course God's question to Adam could easily be translated, "What have you done, Adam?" Well, what have you done that separates you from the fellowship of the Father? Remember, it wasn't God who was hiding from Adam... and He isn't hiding from you either. Go ahead. Answer honestly. You will experience the liberation that comes from restoration to the rich fellowship with the Father, the fellowship you lost when you followed the lead of the first question, "Hasn't God said...?" Amen and Amen.