Where are you?

You’ve asked that question countless times, I’m sure. You’re in the store and can’t find your spouse, child, or friend so you call out, “Where are you?” You’re getting picked up by someone who’s fifteen minutes late so you call and ask “Where are you?” You get a call from a friend and the background noise nearly drowns out their voice and you ask, “Where are you?”

 You and I have asked that question numerous times over the years. It reveals our limited knowledge. We don’t know where someone is and want to find out for whatever reason. The question makes perfect sense coming from the mouth of humans such as ourselves. But in Genesis 3:9 it comes from the mouth of an all-knowing God and seems quite strange.

 The setting is the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned by eating fruit from the tree that God had told them not to eat. They succumbed to the serpent’s temptation, rebelling against God’s authority. They knew it was wrong because the moment they heard God walking in the garden, they ran and hid like a toddler with his hands in the cookie jar hearing mom coming to the kitchen.

 That’s the setting. But what about this question from the mouth of an all-knowing God? Why would God ask, “Where are you?” It’s a needless question from the perspective of His infinite knowledge. God knew, but He asks anyway. I’ve heard it said that God gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to own up to their sin. There is probably an element of truth to that. God will deal with their sin. He goes on to ask them directly if they had eaten the forbidden fruit. But He doesn’t start there. He doesn’t go to where they are hiding and say, “Have you eaten the forbidden fruit?” Instead, He begins with the question “Where are you?”

 I’ve never understood the extent of God’s mercy revealed in that question until recently. There are so many other ways that God could have responded after Adam and Eve sinned. He knew what they did. He knew where they were hiding. Knowing my own parenting style, I would have gone to where they were hiding and said, “Get out of there. I know what you did. Why did you eat that fruit?” God could have bypassed questions altogether and skipped to verses 16-19. He could have just cut to the chase and punished them for their willful sin. God doesn’t do that. He asks a question that He already knows the answer to.

 Where are you?

 Sin has broken the relationship Adam and Eve had with God, but God still longs for a relationship with them. God doesn’t immediately look for a confession from them, but instead provides opportunity for relationship. “Adam? Eve? Where are you? I want to meet with you.” He invites them to come out of hiding and engage with Him. God still loves them. Sadly, the relationship is not the same. Sin has damaged the relationship and there are consequences, but the heart of God for His image-bearers remains the same.

 How merciful for God to begin with “Where are you?” It’s an invitation to come out of hiding and engage with Him, a God who wants a relationship with people. God’s heart for relationship led Him all the way to death on a cross. Jesus died to deal with the separation caused by sin and restore relationship between God and humanity. God prophesies about this relational restoration through Christ even as He pronounces judgment on the serpent. Genesis 3:15— “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” The serpent who tempted Adam and Eve to sin and damage their relationship with God will be dealt with by a descendent of Eve—the Lord Jesus Christ, who would die on the cross to bear the consequences of sin and restore relationship with God. In the midst of judgment, God offers the gift of hope.

 Many still hide from God, not understanding His heart for a relationship with them. And God, in His mercy, still cries out to a hiding humanity, “Where are you?” Because of Christ and His work on the cross, we no longer need to hide. God has dealt with our sins and provides forgiveness for us if we will receive it through faith in Christ. So come out from hiding. Come out from the trees of guilt and shame. Come out from the trees of pride and self-sufficiency. Come out from the trees of denial and deception. Open yourself up to a God who loves you and longs to have a personal relationship with you.

Where are you?