Adam, where are you?

Genesis 3:8-9 "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?'"

 God is sovereign.  He is over all, knows all things, and nothing and no one can be hidden from His sight.  He knows exactly where we are each second, knows our thoughts, knows what we are going to do and say beforehand.  He knows us intimately. He encompasses us all around; He hems us in behind and before; He "girds" us.  He is our holy girdle!  See Psalm 139.

Knowing this--why then does God ask, "Adam, where are you?" 

My Mom was on heavy painkillers the last month of her life.  Much of that time she was not "with" us.  Her body was there, lying in the hospital bed.  But who she was, her essence, was imperceptible-- buried under soul-altering drugs. 

One day I went to see her.  She'd been "gone" for several days.  Looking into her eyes it was instantly apparent that today she was "there"--she was herself, the Mom I loved.  I was overjoyed.  "You're back!", I exclaimed.  (She didn't have a clue what I meant, but that's OK.)

God created Adam; body and spirit.  He was intimately familiar with and adored every facet of Adam's character. God delighted in their close fellowship, mutual love and trust.  

He gave Adam one "Don't".  When Adam disobeyed, he betrayed God.  He distrusted the One who made him, and broke their flawless fellowship. 

With that act of disobedience, he changed from a trusting, innocent man to a sinful man with a newfound knowledge of evil.  Adam was, in his very essence, changed. Adam's sin was soul-altering. 

Many times possibly we've been deeply disappointed by those we love dearly. Someone we thought we knew intimately and had a strong soul/heart connection with, may act in a way that is incomprehensible to us.  We feel betrayed.  We don't just feel betrayed by their contrary actions, but also betrayed by our own understanding of them.  We wonder if we ever really knew them at all. They seem changed to us.  Where did the person we loved so dearly "go"? It's heart-breaking!

God was very aware of Adam's location in the garden, his hiding spot behind some trees.  He was constantly surrounded by the Spirit of God.  Because Adam was now a vastly altered man, God may have been deeply mourning for him when He called out, "Where are you?"

"Where is my beloved child, the one with whom I had unbroken fellowship and constant delight?"  The Adam whom God created and adored was no longer the same Adam.  He was gone.

However, God is the way-maker.  He made a way to restore His original creation.  After the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God He was able to look into Adam's eyes, see that he was himself once again, and say with elation, "You're back!"