Where Are You?

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. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:8-9).

After lovingly creating us for a relationship with him, why do we hide from God? After fashioning us to need others and then carefully crafting us to fulfill each other, why do we blame each other for our problems? In a world created so magnificently, a world without death and pain, why is everything decaying and falling apart?

In James’ video this week, he talks about the origin of brokenness in the world — whether that brokenness is our separation from God, the brokenness in our relationships with each other, or the brokenness in our world:

Our sin, whether manifested in outright rebellion or simply missing the mark of goodness for our lives, separates us from each other and from God. It causes us to hide from our Father in heaven and blame each other for our problems. This separation from God and each other also shows up in the once perfect and peaceful creation turning sometimes hostile. All we have to do is notice the news we see in the media to know that these results of human sin distance us from God, lead us to hurt each other, and end up destroying our environment.

While James’ message reminds us about the cause behind our often-broken relationships and the dangerously-hostile world, it doesn’t point to a remedy — that will come later in our journey. Any remedy is beyond our capability to manufacture. Our high-tech devices, our advances in science, our bookstores, and reading apps full of self-help books have not brought us closer to God, solved the differences between us, mitigated the damage to our planet done by our excesses, or calmed our planet’s hostile disasters that hurt us.

This inability to save ourselves from destruction is why our place in God’s story of redemption will lead us to Jesus. He came to bridge the distance between God and us. He came to help us learn to love each other and find fulfillment in our relationships. He came to offer us hope for a renewed creation that is no longer hostile and not subject to decay. Despite our sin, and because of God’s love for us, he chose not to give up on us. Instead, he came to us and for us, to bring us lasting hope and an actual remedy through grace.

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God (Romans 5:5-11 NLT).

Until next time, let's stay the course and keep seeking lasting truth about God, life, and the meaning of our journey!