8 When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
9 God called to the Man: "Where are you?"
10 He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid." (The Message)
Adam and Eve have disobeyed God and now believe they have to hide from God in the garden. This passage contrasts with Saturdays reading where God sets man and women together and says that "They were naked and felt no shame." (Gen. 2:25) This is obviously not what God had intended for man and women. The reality is that we too at times find ourselves hiding from God when we sense that God is getting close. We hide for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes we hide because we know we are guilty of disobeying God's desires for us. Other times we might hide because other people have made us feel like God will punish us when what we have done/thought/etc. comes to light. We might even hide from God because we fear that we will be told to do something more than we think we can handle.
Adam and Eve find that their actions led to consequences (which all sin does). Those consequences though do not mean that God stops caring for them. Immediately following their banishment from the garden God makes clothes for them and sets them on their way. While sin changes the relationship between us and God the good news is that God never turns God's back to us.
Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:
- When you were young did you enjoy playing hide and seek? Why or why not?
- What is the best hiding place you ever found? What did it feel like if no one found you?
- What might you be hiding from God and why?
- What do you need to do today to allow God to find you where you have been hiding?
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