Adam

One day a long time ago, God came into the Garden of Eden to visit with His good friend Adam. God was disappointed that Adam and his wife were not there to greet Him in their happy and loving way. So God began to call out for them. This is the actual account: The man and his wife 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, “Where are you?” Gen 3:8-9 (NLT) We know the story, how that the first two people had decided to disobey God and now they were aware of their nakedness. Adam and Eve were hiding because of the awareness that they were now sinners. Every person since that time, who develops to a certain point, will suddenly realize that they are also disobedient. At first we don’t understand our guilty feelings but we know something is not right. Some people will try to deny this truth but their sin is impossible to hide from God. After all these years of history; God is still calling out to the sinners who think they are hiding from Him. He is saying, “My lost souls, where art thou?”

Sin is a bad thing but our greatest tragedy is the broken fellowship with God. How wonderful it is when some soul cries out to God, “here I am!” This sounds easy enough but we always have our hang-ups. When people take a good look at themselves and the creation around them, they are aware that someone has created us. Unfortunately, they begin to think for themselves: Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Romans 1:21 (NLT) Confusion is a condition that is difficult to overcome because we just can’t think straight. No matter how intelligent people are, confusion can easily keep them in the dark. Many people believe they are hid from God because of their confusion but there are other terrible conditions. Some people in America are living in their belligerence toward God. They are not hiding but are actually foolish enough to get in God’s face.

This brings up the fact that everyone in this world is living in exile. When Adam disobeyed God we all had to be put out of the garden of fellowship. This is the Scripture: So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. Gen 3:23 (NLT) We live “outside the Garden” while we are on this earth. It means that people’s behavior will always become very ungodly. Humans are not capable of any other life. Paul described it for us: People will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. 2 Tim 3:2-5 (NLT) This is the way it has become in the world today. It is obvious that we need to call out to God for His help.

Church people always say “that is a description of people outside the Church”. They may be right but consider some things that this world is doing to people in the Church. For example, we all try to “keep up with the Jones'”. When we don’t possess the same things as everyone else, we will be considered losers. If we don’t make enough money then how can we acquire what everybody else enjoys? So we end-up spending most of our time struggling for money and success. Of course, we never get enough but in the meantime we do not spent time in fellowship with God. Others of us just want to improve ourselves. We are not good enough outside the Garden so we attempt a list of self- improvements. We could make a long list here but you know it. Once again, no matter how much time we spend bettering ourselves, it is never enough. God is continually calling for us to fellowship with Him. Even when we don’t have all these worldly activities, there is still another problem. We all want this life be about us and our problems. What great lengths people will go to in order to be the center of attention. We don’t like to admit it but we all have wasted time trying to get the world admire us.

No matter how good we are, we still stand in need of a new relationship with God. To please God by becoming a member of His family we must call out for help. We cannot continue to hide from the things God has for us. Failing to yield ourselves to him will lead to our eternal death. When God takes us into His family we become a new person. A new relationship will give us our identity and life will have great purpose. We were created to have a relationship that always worships God. The most natural thing in the world is to submit to our great God to happily and freely worship Him. Scripture says: But joyful are those who have God… as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly. Psalms 146:5-8 (NLT) It is wonderful to have a relationship with the Creator of everything.

Because we were made in the image of God it is possible for us to please Him greatly. The purpose of our life should be to reflect the image of God back to Him. That is what really pleases Him. This kind of behavior requires us to be “in tune” with His life. The way we treat other members of the church is how we reflect the image of God. He is even building a special home for the people that serve others. The Bible says: For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Heb 6:10-11 (NLT) My friends, please come “out of hiding” and ask God to teach us His ways. Say to the Lord, here I am, use me as part of your plan. Then we will not hear Him say “Where art Thou?”