“Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?” (Job 11:7, HCSB)
If you had ten minutes in heaven with God, what would you ask him? About his nature? About his creation? About history? I’m sure you’d ask him something, because it is our nature to be curious.
We get it from our father…our heavenly father. The Bible is filled with questions God asks…which is strange because God is omniscient (all-knowing). Since he needs no information from us, it is evident that he asks us questions for our own benefit. Sometimes we need to hear our answer for ourselves.
Take, for example, God’s question for Adam and Eve in the garden. “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9) They were hiding in the bushes, but God knew where they were – like any parent can find a toddler playing hide-and-seek. When they heard the question from the mouth of Almighty God himself, they had to realize just how silly their situation was. You can’t hide from God in a bush!
God asks the question because he was there for their evening walk in the cool of the evening just as he had every evening before (see Gen. 3:8). Only, Adam and Eve weren’t interested in an evening stroll. Things had changed. They had disobeyed.
Herein lies the problem with sin – it separates us from God. Yes, that includes heaven and hell, but I’m also describing emotional separation…a loss of intimacy. Sin will lead us to pass up an opportunity to walk with God while hiding in the bushes.
We lost a lot in the garden, but one of those things is intimacy. Here’s the good news – God hasn’t given up on having a relationship with us and intimacy can be relearned. I hope you’ll join us Sunday and we’ll discuss it together.