They heard footsteps. They were frightened. They hid. Then, they began blaming one another for where their lives were at this point.
God asked this man and woman this question:
Where are you?
They hid because they had disobeyed God. God had given them the freedom to enjoy a wonderful creation. He did tell them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He is God after all.
Yet, they chose to ignore what he said.
How would we respond to this same question?
- Some of us may hide. We are doing fine. Everything is wonderful!
- Some of us may blame. I know this isn’t right, but after what my husband did to me, you can’t blame me for ….
- Some of us may be fearful. What if I try this and it doesn’t work?
- Some of us may deny that anything is wrong. I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m a good person!
Yet, when God asks “Where are you,” he really wants us to think. He wants us to take a good look at where we really are.
Perhaps you and I need to reflect on some of these questions:
- Where am I in my relationship with the Lord?
- Where am I in my marriage? Am I loving my spouse in a way that brings delight to his/her heavenly father?
- Where am I with my children? Are they better able to grasp the character of God by looking at my life?
- Where am I with this world? Do I pray for others? Am I following Jesus and genuinely living for others?
(See Genesis 3: 1-13)
Question:
What has been helpful in re-centering your life on occasion? Are there any particular habits or disciplines that have been helpful?
For me discipline is the key. Self-Denial. Simplicity. Prayer. Study. Contemplation. Community. I find the more I am centered on Christ through these intentional avenues the more in step and in tune with Him I become. But more and more I am realizing that silence and solitude exponentially aid in the “re-centering” and reorienting of life. To step away from all of the noise of life and be silent with God. All spiritual disciples are crucial. But practicing the presence of God in silence before Him on a daily basis has proven (is proving) extremely beneficial for me.
Thanks for asking.
Glory to God!
Jason
Very good Jason. I have also found that I have to be intentional about practicing particular disciplines that I have found helpful. Thanks.
Not to force the conversation in a different direction, but I think it’s worth reminding you that they didn’t blame each other. Eve blamed the serpent, not her husband. She did attempt to justify her behavior, but not by pointing out what Adam did to her.
Jenny, thanks so much for this.
Of course you are right in that Eve did not blame Adam but the serpent. However, after reading the text again, it does seem to me that in Adam’s conversation with God (3:12), she did blame Eve and seemed to blame the Lord God as well (“The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit…”).
They did not blame one another in conversation with each other. Perhaps that is what you meant.
Of course, I’ve been wrong PLENTY of times and could be wrong again.
Jim
I came to visit your site and I just had to leave a comment on this post. Wow, what an attention grabbing beginning! I love creative writing and this captured my imagination right away and compelled me to keep reading.
I also like the way you took this familiar story and interjected it with questions and scenes we could relate to for example how we play the blame game.
Good writing and most of all thanks for making an familiar story fresh and relevant.
Keep up the good writing!
Sharon, thank you so much for the wonderful comment! I appreciate your kind and affirming words.
I have been to your site on several occasions and found it to be very helpful. Your comment is especially meaningful to me since you are writer and a student of writing.
Thanks!
Thank you for this Jim. Somehow this became the skeleton of my sermon for this morning. And is leading my list of possible sermons as I teach the first night of camp in a couple weeks. I just think its a great question to ask on the first night of camp.
Just so you know. I will ask the group of teenagers at Bandina Youth Camp tonight. Where are you? and challenge them to evaluate their relationship with God as the week goes ahead. Thank you for this great thought.