If Only They Had Listened
Photo by Maksim Goncharenok from Pexels
Tragedy Shook Their Foundation
Somewhere, many greats ago, I had great-grandparents. I don’t know what they looked like because that was before photography. I’ve heard stories though. Apparently they were rather amazing. Some would say, flawless. Until…
Tragedy shook their foundation. Their peaceful world got invaded. One of the hardest parts of the story, to me, is that it was self-inflicted injury. It was… their fault.
If only they had listened. If only they had obeyed. If only…
But they didn’t.
Yet. Someone stepped in who cared. Someone dared to walk in such a way that they could hear his footsteps in the midst of agonizing pain. Someone dared to call out, Where are you?
Naked and Ashamed, they hid.
Yet… the familiar voice of The One Who Cared called out.
Where are you?
We are here, Lord. Hiding. Naked and Ashamed
A new conversation started with a new script. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. But it was.
The One Who Cared stepped into their brokenness. Not from a distance. He came to their very place of hiding. He came with love. He came to cover. He came to clothe. He came… Thank God. He came.
He still comes. Walking. Calling out our name.
Where are you?
“When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and the woman heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man (and woman), Where are you?” Genesis 3:8-9 NLT
As it was with Adam and Eve, so it is with us now. God is walking in the garden of our lives. He calls out for honest communication when we struggle with the effects of sin. Be it self-inflicted or other inflicted or devil inflicted. Whatever… The biggest deal is that something happened that caused pain and shame. And He Cares. He wants to help.
He wants to meet us Right Where We Are. He wants to clothe and cover. He wants us to know that there is still hope… in spite of it all.
He is calling out now.
Where are you?
Will you answer?
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she tooksome of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.
Now they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 6-13 NAS